Enthralled by apathy
by Ad Vesperum
Summary: Warren tries to solve his problems by running away... on hiatus
1. prologue: On the move

-First things first, this is a story set in an alternative universe, maybe I will get to the story line of the movie later.

-Rated T for now, this may change later...

-My first fanfiction so I'm sorry if the characters seem ooc.. I was unsure about which fandom to choose, so I don't know if my style will appeal to anyone, reviews about that would be helpful *nudge nudge*

* * *

It was a small vent in the curtains, just enough to let in a small tide of sunlight, that caused him to wake up as soon as that small ray of light touched his face.

He had finally managed to ignore the ever-present noises of the train he was in, the sporadic stops, the people who would look inside his cabin, resulting in them either continuing their search or entering to sit across him for a while, before exiting to get off the train again. He had finally managed to sink into a shallow, restless sleep, only to be wakened once again by this damned sun and its glaring light.

Scowling he shut the curtains completely, creating a pleasant gloaming to fill the small room. A look at his purse told him that he couldn't afford another train, and he would soon have to get off of this one, too.

With no idea where he was going, the thought that he was at least on the move had kept him safe from despair, but now life decided to take this small sanctuary of delusion from him, leaving him with nothing, at last truly at an end.

The hours passed, slowly fading into the nothingness of oblivion, nothing more than empty spaces in the story that was his life at that moment. And then the time came, the time to leave the train, he wouldn't risk being caught, being asked where his parents where, being asked what he was doing on a train in the middle of nowhere.

The station was gloomy and kinda depressing, the building a mere ruin, only one track, no timetable and no signs of life whatsoever.

Except the weeds that grew through the stone tiles covering the floor maybe.

„Warren Peace‟, he said his own name, just to remind himself of who he was, who he had been, who he would be until his life would finally come to an end.

He had a name, all that was left of his old life, the burning wreck, so to say, of his past.

As he left the station, he didn't even bother to ask where exactly he was, firstly he wouldn't know the name of this stinking town anyways, secondly it wouldn't matter where he was if he didn't even know where he was going.

Following his instinct Warren soon reached a somewhat livelier place, the center of this hicksville, nothing more than a two-lane street, a somewhat big square with a few shops, and a smaller square, covered with dark stones, with some more shops.

The bigger square was paved with light gray stones, with a concentric statue made out of dark metal being the only remarkable object about it.

Warren strolled towards it, noticing the wary looks the people darted at him. As he reached it, he recognized the statue as the portrayal of some superhero, maybe one of those his father had fought, maybe one he had seen on TV sometime, it didn't matter to him at that point. Superheroes were all the same, all just worthless junk, to be praised, to be admired, to be too late when their help was really needed.


	2. On the move 2

-All right, so this chapter became a lot more adult-themed than I first intended, therefore the rating will change to M ...

-Waring: contains prostitution, even though nothing sexual happens...

-I'm already working on chapter three, and I guess I'll need at least two more chapters to really get into the story without rushing things

-reviews are always nice, but I won't suddenly stop writing if you don't do one... (critical reviews are certainly helpful since I'm still not convinced by the way I write.. I won't take criticism personally..)

* * *

He watched his surroundings, trying to ignore his hurting and growling stomach. He hadn't eaten in three days now and since he had never been in the situation where he had nothing to eat before, his inexperienced innards objected vehemently against this ordeal.

As he stroked the smooth surface of the statue, felt the coldness oozing from the dark material, his inner fire slowly shrunk, leaving him with the numb feeling of a rage, almost forgotten, but still present, haunting him in moments of silence.

Swiftly he rose and crossed the square, looking for a public bathroom of some sort, finding a restaurant with enough decency to let him through without actually ordering anything.

Inside the green tiled room with the dim light, Warren turned to the sink, moistening his face with cold water before looking into the mirror.

He looked pretty awful, his face like a pale mask, the dark eyes dull and tired, his hair a greasy mess. It reflected his state of mind, a looking glass into his soul so to say.

He hated it, being an open book for everyone interested in knowing his mental condition, he tried to hide his desperation, his weariness, but it wouldn't work, not this time. He left the rest room even more downcast than before, not paying any attention to the people inside the restaurant, who watched him sceptically.

He tried to sort out his thoughts, there had to be some way he could make money easy and quick. But the past fourteen years that were his life hadn't taught him anything helpful when it came to working, there had always been many problems, still, money was never one of those.

Before Warren realized, the sun was already fading, disappearing behind the horizon, as the streets emptied, safe for the prostitutes.

Prostitution was, from all Warren knew, illegal, still those woman and men couldn't be anything else, lingering in those endless side streets, in the shadows, waiting for drifters or their regular customers, Warren huffed with revulsion as he turned to leave this part of the city, maybe the city limits would be somewhat more appealing to him.

Just as he was about to leave-

„Hey, how much?‟, Warren turned to the speaker, some overweight old man, sitting in a black BMW, watching him though dark glasses.

Just as Warren was about to shoot back an angry reply he got an idea.

Forcing his face into the brightest smile he could muster Warren turned to the driver and replied: „Well, that depends on what you want.‟

After they exchanged some more words, in which Warren was careful, not to let his anger at this man erupt, he entered the car, not without feeling a bit anxious, and said man drove them to some spacy parking area just outside the city.

„Well, then, undress‟, his voice was slick and demanding, Warren looked through the car's front window and composed himself for what he had planned.

„Hey, kid, I said-‟, those where the last words Warren heard from the man.

A fat hand touched his shoulder and he reacted immediately, setting his own skin on fire and pushing the man back. The scream was muffled by Warren's hand as he pushed the pervert out of the driver's door and onto the pebbles that covered the floor.

Smelling the burned flesh of the man's hand with satisfaction, Warren inflamed his free hand and held it in a way the man could see it.

„Give me everything in your purse‟, his voice was hoarse, resembling a growl, the man hesitated, „now!‟

Nothing more than a whimper as Warren hit him on the temple, then the man was still and Warren left the parking lot significantly richer.


	3. On the move 3

-So, this is the third chapter, and I think I need to clear a few things first...

-I will introduce some Oc's, now I don't really like stories focussed around these own characters and this one won't be such a story.

-Why introducing them? Well I just needed some antagonists who weren't as slapstick as 'Royal Pain' (even though she _will_ have a role in here) so I thought having some of my own creations as the bad guys would be funny...

-this "back story" at the end of the chapter is completely a product of my own imagination, I'm sorry if it collides with anything said in the movie...

* * *

No trains arrived in the following few hours and Warren began to wonder if any would come to this shithole of a village at all. But he had arrived here with a train, so at least once a day one should arrive. He didn't worry about the man from before, he had been far too scared to come back and he wouldn't be able to alarm the cops without mentioning any of his own indiscretions. No one would touch a supervillain.

It was strange, a day ago he had been desperate, almost on the verge of giving up, money changed everything. It always did.

The sky filled with clouds, maybe it would rain, but Warren didn't care, water could maybe extinguish the flames on the surface, but his inner fire would keep him safe and warm as long as he stayed awake until the train arrived. Hours passed, the first few drops collided with the ground, most raindrops would fail to hit him anyways.

Then the train approached, looking exactly like the one he had arrived in, the red varnish already flaking off the metal shell, the plastic windows dirty and covered in graffiti. The only pleasant thing about this train were the orange curtains, even though he wouldn't need them with the weather being this bad.

He paid the conductor, not taking any risks, ignored the murky look the middle-aged man gave him and entered one of many empty cabins.

The burger he had bought earlier sat heavily on his stomach, his only provision was a big bottle of water, which he placed on the small table at the window.

His backpack was long gone, with everything inside it, all that was left were the bags in his black jacket and his jeans which contained his purse, a few expired pills and the only keepsake from home, some stupid necklace. He didn't even know why he brought it, it wasn't like him to be sentimental.

Shoving these thoughts aside Warren closed the curtains and leaned against the wall, trying to get some sleep while the train continued to take him farther and farther from the place formerly known as home.

* * *

"Hey, are these seats taken?", the voice of a guy, older than Warren, sounding casual, waking him without a second thought.

Warren pushed his eyes open with great effort, focusing on the stranger who had just entered the compartment. Brown hair, nonchalant demeanor, worn out clothes, maybe seventeen or eighteen years old.

"Take them", Warren wondered why this guy wouldn't just take one of the empty cabins, as his thoughts were interrupted by a second person entering.

This one was different, somewhat disturbing and definitely one to be remembered.

Colorless skin, skinny, his white hair hanging down on his shoulder in thick streaks, clothed in stainless white silk. But the most peculiar thing about this guy were his eyes, or rather his lack of any pupil or iris whatsoever.

As the two occupied the bench opposing Warren, he felt the need to leave, still, he couldn't just back of like a wimp, so he forced himself to stare back at the first guy and remained perfectly still and controlled.

"I guess you're a superhero?", the question came unexpected, Warren didn't know how to respond, the speaker seemed to notice this and put out his hand, "My name is Kyan, I'm kind of a superhero myself."

"Kind of?", the question came out before Warren could think about it.

Kyan laughed: "Well I _am_ super, just struggling with the 'hero' part I guess."

"This", he pointed at the second guy, "Is Yepa, he is the same as me."

Then his gaze returned to Warren and he seemed to cogitate something before remaking: "I guess your color code is black and red... What's your power?"

Warren ignored his uneasiness and answered: "I'm a pyrokinetic. What about you?"

Kyan smiled, a cold and alarming smile: "Well As you can see Yepa's color code is white, mine is brown and black, as for our powers...", he tilted his head, "It's a bit hard to explain it to an outsider. Do you know about the true nature of everyone's powers?"

"True nature?", Warren was a superhuman by birth, he had always thought that this was his true nature, what did this guy mean?

"Well, the power of every superhero in the world can be reduced to one single word", a small smirk replaced the former smile, "Well not exactly one word but one phrase, I mean 'distortion of reality' "

Warren arched a brow at that: "My powers are real themselves, they're not just distortions."

"Oh really?", the smug expression on Kyan's face began to bother Warren, "So creating fire with your bare hands is real? Is normal? Do you really think that?"

"I'm not the only one with this kind of power, it may not be normal but it has long since become common to see superpowers", Warren knew almost everything a fourteen years old could know of superpowers, he was after all the son of a great villain.

"Do you know how the humans first obtained these powers?", Warrens face remained blank, "I thought so. Let me tell you how. The first one to have superhuman powers was a nameless being who came from space. After he arrived here, humans who were bitten by radioactive animals, victims of experimental failure and so on gained powers, every kind of power, lastly humans with natural powers were born, this was the origins of the superheroes and villains."

Warren didn't know if he should believe this guy, it was the first time he had heard this story, and it seemed too strange to be true. Heroes had existed since long ago, but no one had ever explained how they came into existence.

"Now, People were bitten by radioactive animals before this being arrived on earth, experiments resulted in failure before he came, and people who thought they had powers existed since humanity was born, but do you know what became of these people?

"What?", this was all starting to get really freaky, but Warren couldn't help wanting to know more.

"They died, some right away, some later when the radiation destroyed their body. As for the naturals, they were locked away as lunatics, or drugged until they fit into society", he breathed, as if he remembered something from long ago, "Now, do you get what happened when this being arrived from space?"

Warren remained silent, not knowing what to answer.

"He used a power, only one, before being killed by the humans who feared him. This one power was unique, no one after him would obtain it", this all was starting to make sense in Warrens head and he couldn't help but stare at Kyan as he ended his story: "It was the power to alter reality permanently, to invade every human's mind, leaving his legacy to this world. His legacy, the superpowers."


	4. On the move 4

-Alright, this is the last chapter for today, I'll try to release as steady as I can...

-The story will gain a little bit more depth as it continues, I will probably let every named character of the movie have a part in this fic

-This story will continue to focus on Warren, even now as I introduce more characters.

-As you may have noticed, this story is set pre-movie, concerning the timeline, so everyone is a bit younger... even though Warren seems too mature for his age, I'll explain later why I did that

- now, thoughts, suggestions, critics, are always welcome, it'l make it easier for me to improve

-Oh and if you notice grammar errors and such, just say so and I will try to pay more attention... or maybe I can get someone to beta for me ._.

* * *

Some seconds passed without any of them saying a word, some long, and tense seconds, where the only sounds were the clattering of the train and the rustle of the air being pressed through the small opening in the window.

Then Warren found his tongue, asking: "So, what do you want to say? What does that mean concerning your own power?"

"It makes us different from other superheroes or -villains, such as you, see if all powers are only a disruption in our reality, we have almost indefinite possibilities", Kyan's voice was steady, his gaze showed no sign of emotion.

"You're saying that everyone can obtain any power by simply wanting it? That's just stupid", Warren couldn't make sense out of this, was this guy just loony?

"It's not as easy as that, you see, everybody's born with a certain affinity, and only if you realize what this affinity is you can start to obtain said power, however, there is always a way around rules, isn't there", a faint smile appeared on the other guy's, Yepa's face, while he swept a few streaks of lily-white hair from his face.

Kyan continued: "If you gained knowledge about all of this, and about some more, let's say the origins of this original alien and his power, or the nature of said power, wouldn't you be able to alter reality yourself, gaining the absolute authority?"

"What do you mean?", Warren felt like a child, being taught the basics of life, understanding only parts of what the parents told him.

"He talks", this was the first time Yepa had raised his voice, a gentle and serene voice, smooth like the silk he was wrapped in, "About a way to become what the people would call god."

Warren almost choked, those two were definitely crazy, and dangerous on top of that, he needed to get out of there.

At the next stop he managed to stammer a few words about having reached his destination, then he exited the train, not looking back until it had left the station.

He looked around, realizing how stupid he had been getting off the train here. There was nothing, no buildings, no cars, no people, only one single street and one track of rails, the stone platform he was standing on and two wooden benches who looked like they had not been used in years.

He turned to sit on one as he instantly twirled around at an earsplitting din, with horror he saw the train he had been on only one minute ago, bursting into flames. As the smoke settled only a burned out wreckage was left of it.

Without a second thought he went to the street and began running, away from the train wreck, away from the station, until he felt safer and his legs were about to give in.

Looking around again he noticed the distant mountains, some dry bushes, and since the rainclouds were long gone, the setting sun, which bathed the scenery in dim orange light.

No shelter in sight, he would just sleep on the roadside today.

He imagined his father, shouting at him for being pathetic, maybe his mother would silently cry at the scenery, then they would split, his mother would sit at the kitchen table, imagining the three eating dinner like a normal family, his father would leave the house to destroy something, he himself would just go to his room, to sink into a sleep, plagued by nightmares. But it wouldn't be that way, never again, everything was destroyed, even the bad things, gone to make room for apathy.

Only in rage Warren could find peace these days, only rage could get him to feel something, anything, if even the rage would be taken from him, he would become empty. But maybe that wasn't so bad, maybe apathy was the way to escape this world, maybe he should embrace that nothingness, welcome it and live by it.

Soon he was asleep in the dirt, a deep, dreamless sleep, it was like a taste of death, how long until his whole life would become like this?

* * *

"Hey, boy, wake up", this voice, he had heard it before...

Before Warren could react, before he could even comprehend what was happening a second voice, this time the voice of a woman, penetrated his hearing: "He seems to be exhausted, should we take him with us?"

He managed to lift himself up, coughing and opening his eyes.

"You're awake, that's good", the male voice again... who were they?

Warren lifted his gaze and tried to wipe away the blur that was blocking his field of vision.

"Who are you?", his voice was quiet, still a bit croaky from sleep.

The woman spoke, lifting him up by his arm while doing so: "I am Jetstream, a superhero, my partner and I are here to find some supervillains who destroyed a train hereabouts."  
He looked at the woman, finally regaining his senses. There was something about that woman that seemed familiar, he looked at the man, who was standing behind said woman, looking over her shoulder at Warren. And then he realized who those two were, when he had seen them, and he shoved her hand away from his arm, taking a few steps back.

"Do we know you from somewhere?", now the woman seemed to remember him, too, this was bad.

"I will go now", Warren tried to steady his breath, keep his powers from erupting, and managed to cool down a bit, "You two seem to be busy I wouldn't want to keep you from investigating."

Warren went past them, only to be held back by a large hand, resting itself on his shoulder.

"Not so fast", the man seemed determined, even though Warren didn't know about what.

He let the hand turn him around, glaring at the two adults who stared back at him in return. Warren went to say something, but the woman cut him off: "Aren't you Baron Battles son?"

Warren tried not to panic, looking around for some sort of escape route, but he knew he wouldn't get away from two adult superheroes, what should he do?


	5. Encounter: prologue end

-Alright, this chapter is the official end of the prologue, the last few days were a bit rough, so I didn't really get to write all that much...

-My OC's will appear at a later point of the story again, although this point is far from being reached

-Comments are welcome, thanks to those who put this story on alert/adding it to their favorites, I always appreciate reading about it^^

* * *

"Yes", the man seemed to remember now, too, "You were the boy we saw at Baron's home."

The words reawakened memories that Warren had tried to shove aside and he almost cringed, trying desperately to find a way out of this situation.

"What are you doing here on your own?", The woman seemed concerned, but every word seemed like a threat to Warren as he stared at her face, "How about you accompany us back to the city and we drop you off at..."

"I don't need your help", Warren blurted out as he didn't want to hear the rest of that sentence, "I'll go now."

Pressure reminded him of the hand still lying on his shoulder, the man with superhuman strength wouldn't let him leave that easily after all.

Just as Warren was about to form a fireball in his hand, he noticed a figure out of the corner of his eye, standing behind Jetstream.

Then, things started to happen very fast.

Jetstream whirled around, alarmed by a silent tone, in an instant she took off and dashed through the air, spiraling into a safe height.

The man, Warren remembered his father calling him "The Commander", finally let go of him an turned, facing three persons. Warren identified Kyan and Yepa, the third person being a slightly pale guy, a bit older than the other two, with long black hair, done in a ponytail.

Not one word was exchanged as Kyan bared canine fangs, grinning at the superhero standing in front of him. His shape blurred, shifted and darted towards his overwhelming foe, Warren stumbled backwards as the two bodies collided with a thump.

Jetstream, seemingly confident of her partner's strength, wafted at the two remaining guys, clenching her fists, ready to fight them off as soon as they would attack. This, however, never happened as Yepa pointed a hand towards her, halting her flight in an instant.

Warren felt his stomach twist as he saw the hero, hovering above the ground in a fighting pose, her cape congealed behind her, her whole body frozen in time.

Then his eyes went on to Yepa, his pure white face disfigured in a grimace of exertion, blue veins clearly visible under his colorless skin.

"Niall, hurry", the addressed boy left his standpoint and moved towards Warren who was frozen in shock at the sight of this surreal spectacle.

A short gaze towards the commander and Kyan, who was wrapped in shadows as he fought the invulnerable man, with his fangs and glowing eyes he seemed more beast than human, then the dark haired boy continued to stroll towards Warren, who finally regained his senses.

Wrapping his hand in fire, the first blast missed his opponent, who began to fall into a trot, reaching Warren, evading the second fireball, aimed at his head, pressing a thumb at Warren's forehead and sending an electric shock through the boy's body.

Warren stared at Niall's face in astonishment, unable to move, until the thumb, still pressing into his skin, was forcibly removed by the commander.

A glimpse to the right showed Warren the unconscious figure of Kyan, struck down by superhuman strength, as well as the passed out Yepa, who had apparently run out of power after trapping Jetstream for too long.

And then there was the dark haired boy, Niall, who had just done something to him, something bad, Warren was sure of it, but he didn't feel any different.

A chuckle got his attention, Niall was staring at him with apparent satisfaction, a smug grin across his face.

"What did you do?", Warren voiced his thoughts as his grinning counterpart was held by the Commander, then again, louder this time: "What the fuck did you do?"

"You'll see, in time", Niall laughed, as he peered over to the albino, Yepa, who was suddenly standing upright, raising his hands.

Then the three of them were gone, in the blink of an eye, Warren heard the Commander curse, an unusual behavior for the oh-so-perfect man.

A thought formed in his head, why hadn't the white clothed boy frozen time for all of them at the very beginning of the fight, rendering their resistance futile?

But he didn't get to brood over this, as the two heroes turned towards him again.

"We will take you back now, we need to check on our son anyways before we set of to get those three", Jetstream's words reached his ears, yet he didn't acknowledge them until he was already on a train back to his hometown. No, it wasn't even that, only some pace he had lived, a long time ago.

* * *

So, only a bit of explanation about the fight scene, Kyan, Yepa and Niall are characters from a story of mine, who I just threw in here to have a story (I was too lazy to invent entirely new characters :( Although they are not really the same persons character-wise as they are in the manga)

Yepa is an albino and blind, is powers are mainly stopping time, although he develops other abilities later in my other story (they probably won't be mentioned here since I want to keep things Sky-Highish with everyone having only one power)

Kyan's power is basically the alteration of his body, this stretches from simple shapeshifting abilities, up to the complete dissolution into shadow/other elements, up to enhancing his bodily functions...

Niall's power is a bit more complex and I will go into that later (wouldn't want to spoil anything...)


	6. Ch1: Emotion

- I know it took me ages... I was on a class-trip (my very last one o_o ) and had a terrible weekend so I didn't get to post until now .

-The story may seem awfully predictable and cliché, but there will be twists and turns later on

-I don't know if the Commander and Jetstream are Ooc I guess they wouldn't be as nice to Warren but I just couldn't really imagine how they would react at all...

-The next Chapter is already in the works ...

* * *

His home, he had asked the heroes to bring him here first, but now that he was standing in front of the very door he had used so many times he felt like leaving again.

His hand found the door-knob, the hinges creaked as Warren broke the seal, left by the police to mark the apartment as a crime scene.

He was glad that Jetstream had offered to stay in front of the building, giving him some space to sort things out.

Someone had told him once that one had to let his feelings out, if you kept them locked inside you would burst, now Warren knew the person was right, as he felt his chest hurting, real physical pain, not just something he imagined.

The first thing he recognized were the blackened walls, the wallpaper burnt to cinders, just like the carpet that had covered the cheap parquet in the living room.

And there, the shape of a human body, lying on the floor, drawn with chalk, he remembered the face of his mother as she had collapsed at that very spot, her hair burning, her skin melting. He felt like throwing up.

One wall of the living room was nothing more than a hole, the spot where the heroes had barged in, too late. Every time something bad happened they were on time to safe everyone but when his mother died, they were too late.

He remembered his father, standing in front of him, fire coating his body. He had been grinning like a maniac as they arrested him, still shouting at Warren as he was brought to justice.

Or was it? He hated his father, but it was his mother's fault for cheating on the very man she had sworn faithfulness to.

He noticed that his arms were on fire, he noticed the flames growing, engulfing the apartment once again.

He felt tears evaporating... tears, that were like an apology for him not feeling any sadness, any regret. He didn't feel anything but anger, at his father, at his mother, at the whole society for creating heroes and villains.

No sound escaped his lips, he wasn't sobbing, mourning, not moving, not showing any emotion.

Only standing there, watching the walls giving in, collapsing...

* * *

"I told you we shouldn't leave him alone", whose voice was that?

Warren realized that he was lying on his back, what happened?

"I'm sorry, I didn't know he would lose control", a female voice, strangely familiar, was this his mother? Was she arguing with father again?

"He is the son of a villain, and not just any villain, Baron Battle! I should have stopped this!"

That man was angry, but sounded different than his father...

Why couldn't he open his eyes?

Or remember anything different than standing inside his burned apartment?

Burned?

"I guess you are right... we should get him to a hospital."

Those people were Jetstream and the Commander, those heroes that had brought him here. Had he passed out?

Finally Warren managed to stem his eyes open, looking up at the sky he couldn't move his head to look at the two people that were standing next to his lying form, so he kept listening to their quarrel.

"What he needs is not a hospital, he has to rest for a while, he's completely exhausted", Jetstream's voice was calm, like she knew exactly what she was speaking of.

"Then we take him back to the protectory?"

The protectory, Warren had run away from that place the moment he had been left alone, he had no intentions of staying there for long if they brought him back.

"No, he is no normal human, we made that mistake once and look what happened. We'll discuss that matter with Principal Powers, maybe she can find him something until he's old enough to earn his own money", Did that woman just read his thoughts? Warren would have rolled his eyes, but moving them caused the world to spin again.

"We can't contact her right now, it's already too late", the commander objected.

Jetstream sighed: "How about we take him in until he's regained some strength? Then we can interfere if he looses control again."

_Hell no._

A moment of silence before the Commander answered: "Fine."

* * *

The scene where he collapses is actually based on a circulatory collapse - experience of myself... he wasn't hit by the crumbling building (even though it seems that way by my depiction) he just used his powers too excessively and blacked out.


	7. Ch2: Meeting

-so very tired... -_-

-Warren's way of arguing is dedicated to a friend of mine, who used to talk like that all the time when we were kids...

-Entering Will, although I still didn't settle on the course of relationship I will take with this... any thoughts on that?

-I didn't like 'The Commander' in the movie, I guess it shows through a lot here ^_^;

* * *

The sky slowly brightened, heralding the imminent sunrise and creating a gentle gloaming around Warren, who still lay on the sofa he had been placed down on when they had arrived. He waited, although he didn't know for what, he still felt dizzy from the events of the preceding night, his whole body and mind seemed to ache.

The brown paneled room said sofa was situated didn't really appeal to his tastes, although he could imagine why other people would like this type of interior decoration.

He shifted his weight, as he had done several times this night, although he had to admit that the light brown sofa was comfortable, especially after days of sleeping in a train or on the street.

His mind was filled with thoughts about leaving, getting away from these people that the commonality admired so much. It wasn't even the fact that these were superheroes that bothered him, it was the thought of being forced into becoming like them.

He didn't want to amend, only because he was told to, he wasn't going to become a respectable citizen because the general public expected it.

But then again, these were probably the thoughts that most supervillains had, and he had no intention of becoming a character like that as well.

It all came down to the thoughts of others expecting you to act like they expected of you. One way or the other, he would always become something they created, good or evil, right or wrong, it all was his fate.

Holding his head he thought of his arrival at the house, there had been a kitchen down the hall, if he remembered right. Would he make it there? A few hours ago he had tried standing up, which only resulted in him sinking back on the sofa with his head hurting like hell.

His stomach growled again, this time louder than before.

Warren got up, feeling the cool parquet beneath his bare feet and stumbled, catching himself by holding onto a wooden cupboard.

Grabbing everything in reach for support he then crossed the hall, with it's yellow painted walls and the dark staircase, stumbled towards the metallic fridge and found himself relieved at the cold air that hit him once he opened it.

He felt sick, although it was normal for his temperature to rise and fall at will.

While fabricating a basic sandwich Warren once again pondered on how this house seemed so very suburban and ordinary, it was hard to imagine that two well-known superheroes lived here. But then again, this was the only real camouflage that those two had, seeing as they didn't even wear masks while saving the day ad nauseam.

After closing the fridge again Warren peered towards the visible front door. He didn't hear any noises inside the house, were the Commander and Jetstream sleeping?

Warren took a few cautious steps towards the door, only to freeze at the sudden sound of a male voice: "You aren't running off again, are you?"

"I don't know", Warren did not turn around as he answered, "What do you think?"

Steps on the floor, stopping halfway between the stairs and Warren, then the Commander asked: "Do you even realize that we saved you? You better learn to be thankful before someone takes offense in your behavior."

Thoughts rushed through Warrens head as he gauged all possible answers that came to mind, he didn't want to anger this man, since he seemed invincible and had powers that opposed his father's, still he had no intention of giving these people false hopes of him setting down for a nice and normal life.

The Commander didn't give him time to answer and continued: "I think it's best to let you know that I will talk to the principal of a school called "Sky High", build for future superheroes, I'm sure she knows some sort of solution to the current problem of yours."

"I know, I heard you yesterday", Warren turned halfway and looked at the man out of the corner of his eye, careful not to show too much emotion.

"And I expect you to stay here", a clear warning, Warren tried to figure out weather it was to be taken serious, then decided to just go with it for now.

There would be an opportunity to leave sooner or later.

* * *

Sitting at the kitchen table Warren gazed out of the window, upstairs he heard Jetstream walking around, then a figure appeared on the staircase.

Turning, Warren caught a glimpse of some kid, younger than himself, who stared at him aghast, then dashed back upstairs. A shout resonated: "Mum!"

"Oh that's rich", Warren remarked sarcastically to himself, "First they live together like some super-obnoxious couple, now they're breeding. What next?"

A minute later Jetstream came walking down the stairs, her child creeping behind, obviously not stoked by the thought of a stranger staying over.

"I should have introduced you sooner", her apologetic tone somehow pissed Warren off, she was not responsible for him, "This is my son, Will."

"Congratulations", Warren ignored the outstretched hand of the boy, earning a deterred gaze before the hand was withdrawn.

"So? Anything else to tell me? You know, I'll be leaving as soon as I find someplace else to stay and I won't return, so you can waive introducing the rest of your family", Warren stood up without deigning to look at the two, and walked towards the hall. There was something about that woman that reminded him of his mother, maybe it was the fact that she was a superhero that had given up her old life for some asshole.

He heard Jetstream sigh: "It is sad to see a child taking after his father, if the father walked the wrong path."

Warren stopped instantly: "Do you think he chose to be labeled villain? If so, he wouldn't have married my mother."

"If he didn't want to appear evil, why did he go against the law? He had the choice, always", At least she didn't treat him like a child, didn't try to educate him. Only stating her opinion, trying to convince him.

Warren thought about those words, he didn't know why his father behaved the way he did. It was not logical, no one was born hero or villain. But where did he go wrong? Was it his parent's fault, if so, was Warren himself destined to be villain as well? Could one be destined to be anything if everyone had the choice to do whatever one saw fit?

Noticing his hesitation Jetstream simply said: "I will listen if you have the answer", before returning upstairs, leaving her son with Warren.

"Don't", Warren stifled the upcoming words and went outside, settling on one of the two wooden benches on the stone porch.

It was clear that they would notice him disappearing right away, they'd just find him again, now that they knew he was fleeing.

He had to wait for that 'solution' before forming a plan.

Watching the sky he wondered why running away seemed like such a good idea in the first place. Probably it was the safety, not needing to think about the present if one just kept going, every moment an escape from the previous one.

Fingering the necklace he still toted around Warren stared at the clouds, trying not to think too much about important things.

Because he knew the point this would lead to.

He tried to blank this particular thought out, thinking about the money he still had left, that he didn't know which day of the week it was, that a large cloud looked exactly like his mother.

Back again.

Eventually he returned to the sofa inside the house and fell into a restless slumber.

* * *

-Didn't sleep for a few days, took me some time to finish this T_T


	8. Ch3: Dreams and Reality

-Once again I publish something, I'm sorry but I'm really trying to post more often...

-The story continues as the final solution for Warren is found... this is probably not correct from a forensic point of view, but what the hell it is a fantasy movie -_-

-This is also the prelude to the main part of the story, don't be deterred by the abstract seeming sequences, I'll sort out things soon enough...

* * *

_The sun was burning down on him as he looked up to the sky where a few wisps of cloud could be seen crawling over the azure surface of the midday sky._

_Was it really?_

_He looked closer and saw the sun setting, bathing the world in orange light, soon it would be gone, giving in to the already visible night._

_Wait, that wasn't right._

_Was it even day? Or night? Why did that sun seem so out of place?_

_But a moon wouldn't fit into that picture of the sky without it all becoming absurdly strange._

_Was this even a matter of daytime? Or was it something far more precise?_

_"Warren", A voice he never heard before._

_Again: "Warren."_

_A female voice, calm and somewhat knowing._

_"Don't be startled."_

_

* * *

_

He darted up as he was shook, a fireball forming in his hand before he even realized it himself, reflexively grabbing the throat of the person that had held his shoulder only a moment ago.

"L..Let go!", the voice of the boy was stifled and frightened, Warren knew him from somewhere.

Oh right, he was Jetstream and the Commander's brat. What was his name again?

"What do you want?", Warren didn't bother to make his voice sound any less annoyed than he really felt, still he let go of the boy's throat, not wanting to cause permanent damage or anything.

"Dad told me to get you... he wants to talk to you", Will said, then hurried out of the room.

Warren got up immediately, not wanting to waste any time here when he could be on the move again.

When he entered the kitchen not only the Commander, but also Jetstream and a third person, a woman, were sitting at the table, looking up at him as he walked in through the door.

The woman was dressed in a black and white checkered blazer and a black skirt with the same pattern, as Warren walked in she smiled at him both friendly and serious.

Deciding not to say anything rash Warren took the offered chair without a comment and found himself facing all three adults, not a feeling that he enjoyed very much.

"I am", the woman in black and white said, "Principal Powers, the chairwoman of 'Sky High', a school you will most likely attend next year, given you won't do anything stupid until then."

Warren thought of his destroyed apartment and wondered if this woman already knew about that incident, probably though she did.

"Since you already were remove from your father's custody, it is time to look for a permanent and final solution to the question where you will be staying. You broke out of your protectory and in any other case this would have serious consequences. However, as Steve relented, it is true that you are no ordinary human and this kind of situation is completely new to the community of superheroes."

Warren already had a feeling that he wasn't going to like this 'solution' of hers, but he had lost his chance for second thoughts when he had been found by the Commander and Jetstream, so he had to deal with this now.

"We will provide you with enough money for you to live, until you can entirely take care of yourself, however, this ends the second you slip again. Steve and Josie will watch you during this time to make sure this won't happen", Warren was yet again confused by the woman using 'Jetstream' and 'The Commander's' real names, but he knew who she was talking about. Apparently his thoughts showed and the woman asked: "Do you want me to pick someone else?"

Warren hurried to recompose his vacant expression, he didn't want to insult these two people that he would have to see more often from now on.

"It's fine, really", he had no idea what the other Superheroes were like, maybe these two weren't the worst ones.

As the conversation seemed to have ended, Warren got up and walked out of the room, not even listening to Powers telling his new wardens about the details of their task, it didn't matter to him at this point.

He wouldn't run away a second time, now that they were on alert, always near him to take him back. Once he would be able to take care of himself he would probably sufficiently brainwashed to obey every single rule of this society.

This way, he could as well resign to his fate.

Even before he reached the door he heard the woman calling out for him: "Where are you going?"

Warren turned, facing her slowly: "I'm going for a walk. They can show me where I'll be living afterward, can't they?", he saw that she didn't agree, "If I am a prisoner, you should tell me so directly, I don't like finding these things out gradually."

"All right, you can go, just be back before sunset", Warren thought it interesting that she told him this, considering that she wouldn't be there anymore when he returned.

It was still a few hours until the sun would perish, so he still had enough time to actually enjoy the calmness of being alone.

He had been alone all his life, so constantly having these people around made him feel unnerved.

By the time he returned, the sun had already perished.

Not a single word was spoken as he entered the living room, where the family was still having dinner.

Once he finished, the kid left, apparently still frightened by Warren's former assault, which amused the latter since it had startled him no less than the other boy.

"Well", The Commander started, "I guess the first thing tomorrow will be us showing you where to live. After that we can hopefully all return to our normal lives."

"What?", did Warren hear wrongly? "Why don't you show me today?"

Jetstream arched a brow at the teen, while clearing the table: "It is quite late, young man, I don't think we will be going anywhere today."

Warren huffed and turned to the door that led to the study, where his couch was located, but was once again stopped by the Commander: "We put your back to your blankets so you can take it with you tomorrow."

"My stuff?", Warren was surprised, he didn't recall bringing anything with him.

Jetstream returned from the kitchen: "Yes, your clothes and such you left at the protectory when you ran away."

Oh, that stuff.

"Thanks."

* * *

_He was standing on top of a building, bathed in violet sunlight, above him the clouds were torn to shreds, while the wind howled around him._

_"… a way to become what people would call god."_

_Warren whirled around, finding himself completely alone. _

_"You'll see in time."_

_He knew that voice, but he couldn't remember anything about the time before he stood at the edge of that building._

_He guessed it was like that with everyone, but then again, he remembered who he was, he even remembered the word memory, but he had none of those._

_"Warren", again, this female voice, he had heard it before... oh right, in his dream._

_He tried to remember how It felt to sleep, to dream, but the voice filled his head, replacing every other thought._

_"Warren, I need to tell you something very important."_

_He fell, did he jump? No, he wouldn't do something this crazy. But then again, he had never heard of anyone dying from a fall. Or had he?_

_"Warren, you need to listen to me!"_

_Darkness engulfed him, as he watched the Moon, that giant rock in space which blanked out every voice, every color, every distraction, finally safe in the arms of disengagement._

_

* * *

_

-yes, this is me trying do describe the surreal feeling of everything being logical in your dreams... at least in my dreams o_O


	9. Ch4: Bonds part 1

Sorry for the super-short chapter, but I sprained the middle finger on my left hand or something like that (haven't been to a doctor yet), it hurts like hell and makes typing difficult .

-I will update the second it gets better :(

* * *

When Warren woke up he felt strangely calm, even the fact that he was going to be stuck in this town again, with two Superheroes at his side, couldn't really shock him.

He almost grinned, it wasn't like him to just resign himself to his fate, and like expected the feeling didn't last long.

As he left the study he almost bumped into Jetstream, who seemed to be in a hurry, after a quick hello she went on towards the living room, while Warren walked into the kitchen where he found The Commander.

"So, Stronghold, how about we get this done so I won't be getting in your way here anymore?", he exclaimed without greeting the man, then reconsidered and added slightly more polite: "If you have the time."

The Commander looked up from his Newspaper and simply answered: "I left you a note with the address, I guess you'll be able to find the house yourself. If not, you will have to wait until either Josie or I return from work."

Oh right, work...

"Come to think of it, don't I have to go to school?", Warren felt dumb, but it was too late to rephrase the question.

The Commander furrowed his brow: "Well, as principal Powers said you will be attending Sky High, but since the summer vacations only just started, you will have enough time to learn how to cook, how to govern your money, and of course you will have to find yourself some job. That you are getting money doesn't mean that you can just rely solely on that."

"Yeah", Warren had already guessed all that, "I guess this won't be a problem, except the job part."

The hero finished his coffee and put the newspaper aside: "What do you mean?"

"I'm not exactly the person someone would hire", Warren didn't feel bitter about this, he didn't really care about those people anyways.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that", the Commander objected, "Just get some decent clothes, tie your hair back, take a shower for a change and loose that attitude of yours for an hour or two and I'm sure you'll find something."

"We'll see", Warren watched as the Commander left the kitchen and decided to eat something himself.

It hit him just when he finished the bow of cereal.

The Commander had left without giving him the address.

"Shit."

And there he was again, stuck inside a neighborhood he didn't know, didn't want to know, with nothing to do other than waiting for one of his hosts to return.

After a few minutes he was already bored to death, so he went outside to place himself on one of the benches again, but was stopped by a girl who was just about to ring the doorbell as he exited the house.

A few second passed as they stared at each other, a few seconds in which Warren tried to figure out whether to defend himself or try to talk to her, in the end it was the girl who broke the silence: "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Warren tilted his head at the redheaded girl and answered calmly: "I could ask you the same thing."

She folded her arms: "I am Layla Williams, Will's best friend, so it's perfectly reasonable that I am here. You, on the other hand, don't know Will, or I would have known about it. So, are you like.. a distant relative? An old acquaintance of his parents maybe?"

Warren tried to weigh up this girl, she was maybe two years younger than he was, still she looked at the significantly bigger guy without any fear or nervousness. She wore green clothes, and a range of flower shaped trinkets.

"I...", he stopped as he didn't exactly know what to answer, then reconsidered, "I'm just passing by, I'm leaving once The C...", he probably shouldn't use those names around normal people, "...Mr. or Mrs. Stronghold will return."

The girl gazed at him critically, then smiled: "Well, nice to meet you. Is Will inside?"

"I don't know", he didn't care either.

* * *

I actually didn't mean that Chapter to end here, I just don't want to be silent for too long... so regard this as a kind of fill-in for the time I'm disabled (wow even typing the description took me about five minutes with only one hand to type with)


	10. Ch4: Bonds part 2

-Well, here's part II, I'll start writing the next Chapter after my class test tomorrow

-A bit rushed, but the next one will be better...

* * *

"I'll be going inside to find out then", she gestured Warren to step aside, which he did, "wouldn't want to keep him waiting, eh?"

Warren huffed: "Yeah, whatever."

He shot a glance after her as she passed the door and went upstairs, he couldn't exactly say what he thought of her. His automatic response was rejection, then again she didn't seem that bad.

But it wouldn't matter once he got out of here, maybe the Strongholds would even send him to another city, so making connections now was just unnecessary.

Soon after Warren had sat down on the bench the front door of the house swung open again and the girl from before exited, dragging Jetstream's son outside after her.

"Hey, uhm... I didn't catch you name earlier", she said, looking at Warren.

He returned her gaze, staying casual: "That's because I didn't say it."

"Well, what is you name?", she kept her grip on Will's wrist, much to the discomfort of the latter.

There was no reason not to tell her his name: "It's Warren... Warren Peace."

"I see, now Warren, you said you were waiting for Will's parents to return right? Well they won't be coming back until evening, so you care to join us?", the offer seemed sincere, too sincere for Warren's taste.

"Actually I'll rather stay here, wouldn't want to miss them, eh?", it was a lame excuse, and a badly placed innuendo on her way of speaking earlier, but Layla seemed to get the clue.

"That's okay, see you then", and with that she went on crossing the lawn.

He eyed the two as they left, and caught Layla telling Will: "You see? He didn't try to kill you."

Warren chuckled and leaned back, enjoying the warmth of the day as noon passed and the sun began to sink.

* * *

"He talks about a way to become what the people would call god."

He remembered, it was that white-haired guy on the train who said this sentence.

"Warren, do you hear me?", and that voice again, that unknown voice of some woman.

And Warren finally saw.

A forest, with trees as giant as skyscrapers.

Thick twines covered the ground, long vines hand from the branches, everything seemed immersed with a soothing green light.

And there she was, the person who was talking to him.

A woman with long, red hair, white skin and dark eyes, clad in long, green robes.

"Warren, I need to talk to you", again, this voice, she was looking directly at him now.

He looked down at his own body, he was wearing a black coat with a flame-like emblem embroidered on it.

"What do you want, Layla?", his own voice speaking, even though he didn't move his lips. What was happening? This seemed unreal.

A dream?

"It is about Will, he needs our help", she seemed desperate, only now Warren noticed that all vegetation around the woman was wittering away, as if her mood spread directly to the plants.

"What has happened?", if this was a dream, why did he feel the heat around him, the ground beneath his feet, he didn't remember a dream feeling this real ever before.

Layla took a step towards him, destroying more plants as she moved: "He is dying."

Suddenly the two seemed aflame, the ground was bursting, the whole world turned to dust in the blink of an eye.

And a voice, deep and knowing resonated from the destruction: "Thank you for showing us her location."

* * *

He woke up moments before The Commander returned from work and told him to get his stuff ready.

He was gone two hours later, leaving the Stronghold's house behind for good.


	11. Ch5: The daily routine

-At this point I want to thank Talis Ruadair without who I couldn't have written the scene at the Paper Lantern

-Also sorry that I didn't use direct discourse in that passage, but I'm no native English speaker and have my problems writing in accent -_-°

-This chapter is not really eventful, but I need to build up something for the final part of the story to fit into here

-Although it might appear that way in this chapter this will be no Layla/Warren fic, I just felt like he got along with her best in the movie o_Ô

* * *

Warren tried to focus, collect his thoughts, concentrate on the problem in hand, but it was not easy with all that happened, and that woman asking him questions in something that, with some fantasy, resembled English.

He had done as the Commander told him, he had taken a shower, adjusted his hair, dressed in some decent clothes he had beforehand bought, and looked for a job.

It was only half a week after he had moved into the apartment that would be his home now, it was only ten minutes from the Stronghold's own home, to make their job easier as Jetstream had put it the first time she visited.

He didn't find it difficult to take care of himself, although he sometimes felt a sting in his chest when he, once again, woke up to find every single room in the apartment abandoned.

But those thoughts were locked inside his chest, safe from bursting out, like he had done it with every memory of his parents having yet another argument, shouting at each other. After they finished his father would leave to drown his sorrows, which Warren was sure he had, along with himself in drink after drink.

Warren told himself that he could just die if he concerned himself with these things, these emotions, so he kept his apathetic expression, which he had developed when he had ran away, stayed calm and did what he had to do.

Again, the woman had to repeat her question, obviously pissed off already, but Warren couldn't back down now. He had to get this job, at least until he was legal and could work somewhere officially. He repeated the question in his head, could he handle a lot of physical and mental stress at his young age?

He almost sneered, and only barely managed to retain his serious expression, telling the woman that it certainly wouldn't be a problem for him.

He had been lucky that this restaurant had been in need for a waiter, since not many placed would have hired a fourteen years old for these kind of jobs.

"The Paper Lantern", a Chinese family business, was a lot nicer than Warren had expected, the red interior decoration and lanterns created a nice mood, even though Warren would never admit that he actually cared about things like that.

And again, Warren didn't quite understand what the small Chinese woman in the green and white clothes asked him, he promised himself to learn whatever accent of Chinese she was speaking, given that they would actually hire him.

And then it was over and Warren had a job, returning to his new home he felt relief, since now he wouldn't have to look for yet another workplace, which was a depressingly boring task.

As soon as he passed the front door he turned off all lights, undressed and went to bed, there was nothing to do for him anyways.

* * *

Flowers, the grass beneath him, even the sky above him, all sent strange sensations through his body, making him dizzy and tired.

"Warren", this voice... ,"Warren where are you?"

Was that a dream? Again?

IF this was a dream and he knew it was a dream he would be able to wake, Warren was sure of that, so he tried.

Think of waking up didn't do anything, so he tried shutting his eyes, but his lids wouldn't move at his command.

He sat up, then stood, and watched as a person spotted him, dressed in a green T-shirt and Jeans, the red hair flowing down her back as she walked towards his stand.

This woman again, Layla, who had an eerie resemblance to the girl he had met at the Stronghold's place.

"I was looking for you, we need to go now!", her voice was without anger, sounding only a bit rushed.

"Sorry, I fell asleep", his own voice, only it sounded deeper, rougher as if...

If he was older, did that mean that the person in front of him was Layla, only older herself?

Now that he recalled it, he had only seen her after he had met her, still, what was with the voice?

He was sure he had heard that voice even before he had met Layla that one time.

Again, the world went dark, as if somebody turned out the light, streams of red were flowing around him as the horizon died, screaming in agony.

And there it was again, the other voice, dark and menacing: "Warren, just as I expected. You are a bit late don't you think?"

* * *

The sun rose, finally, expelling all shadows of the night, and enabling Warren to rise from his bed.

He left the apartment, not wanting to stay in those rooms for too long, and began to hike through the city, aimlessly, only for the sole reason to be on the move.

After a while he noticed that he had actually returned to the district that Stronghold lived in, maybe he could just pay the family a visit, so that none of them would have to check on him later.

As he approached the house he felt himself being watched when the feeling became more urgent he turned, suddenly facing a boy he had never seen before.

Peroxide blonde, short hair, contrasting his reddish skin, wearing a lemon shirt and white pants.

Warren despised wearing white, and the look that kid gave him was already pissing him off, so he turned again and left towards his destination.

"Hey, you!", he probably didn't mean Warren. "Hey, oily hair! You with the black clothes, hey!"

With a glare Warren turned and noticed the kid flinching for a second before regaining his confidence.

"I saw you at the Strongholds house the other day and I just want to make sure you know something."

Warren raised a brow and waited, when the other boy didn't continue he silently turned and motioned to walk away, but was stopped again by a yell.

"I hadn't finished! Now, what I want you to know is that you have no chance of being Will Strongholds buddy since I have that spot booked", he grinned when Warren turned again, "Now that was all, just wanted you to know."

Warren eyed the white kid for a moment, pondering how he should respond, then turned around without showing any reaction and finally continued walking, hearing the boy shouting after him: "You can run, but you know you have no chance!"

When he arrived he found the house dead-still, with no sign of life at all. He almost facepalmed, of course Jetstream and the Commander would be working by now since it was Thursday, with an annoyed growl he turned around, once again standing face to face with a certain kid, clad in white, staring at him from a small distance.

"Will is not here, he is off with his friend, Layla", the boy said with a smug voice, "I guess you didn't know that, did you."

A sudden urge to roast that kid on the spot rose inside of Warren, just one more reason...

"Time to clear off, mate"

Warren was already clenching a fist to send that annoying kid into oblivion, just when he heard a shout: "Hey, Zach, what are you doing?"

He knew that voice, the voice of a girl...

"Hey, Will! You're back!"

He followed Zach's glance and saw Layla striding towards them, the Stronghold kid at her side.

"Oh, hi Warren", she waved at him one she noticed him, Will in return froze, obviously not stoked at seeing him, "What are you doing here?"

"Just wanted to check if Stronghold was here."

Layla looked confused and answered: "Well he is here now, what did you want from him?"

"Not him", Warren huffed, "His parents."

Layla had reached them, ignoring Zach, who greeted Will once he brought himself to move closer to the group.

"Well that makes a lot more sense, but they're at work."

Warren snorted: "Well yeah, I figured that much."

"You want to join us this time? We're going to stay at my place", Layla beamed, which caused Warren to falter, suddenly back in his dream, standing on the pasture with the older Layla in front of him.

The moment passed and Warren snapped out of his delusion, starring at the girl and trying to regain focus.

"No.. I'd rather return home", he felt sick, maybe he had caught something when he had traveled in those stinking trains.

Once he had returned he fell into a deep sleep, despite the fact that it was only midday, he dreamed of shifting worlds full of dust and plants, only waking when his buzzer reminded him that it was time for work.

* * *

-that's it for today, I will probably finish one chapter more this week, then I have holidays and lots of time to write


	12. Ch6: Illusion and destruction

-As promised the next chapter is finished...

-**WARNING**: -Violence

-Thanks to those who added this story to their watchlist and to Talis Ruadair for her continuous reviews^^

* * *

Silently the moonlight dripped into his room, like glowing water drowning him, crushing him, leaving him in an empty space between waking and sleeping, unable to do either.

It had been like this for some days now, for a month he had endured the dreams, then he had gathered enough money to buy a cheap television, which gave him the possibility to spend his nights watching shows, waiting for the next day, the next evening, the next time he had to go to work again.

Insomnia hurt, but it was a relief from the increasingly disturbing dreams, or rather nightmares, that plagues him at night.

He didn't remember what exactly he saw, like he had with the first weird dreams that he had experienced, but the fact that he was waking every night, dripping with sweat, gasping for air, his limbs shaking, made sleep unbearable for him.

It was morning now, Warren got up from the bed and moved over to the shimmering device that came to live at his command, the only lively thing in his apartment.

He knew he couldn't stay in control forever, and it wouldn't be long for his monthly check by the Commander or Jetstream, they had agreed that the daily updates were unnecessary if they got in contact at least once in a month.

And so, Warren could just wait for noon when he had to work again.

A sudden ring startled him, like a sudden clear spot in his blurry vision, ringing in his ears even minutes after it had broken off. Slowly he got up and went towards the door.

Opening it he watched the wood moved with awe, it was truly amazing how smooth the motion was, as if the hinges were an enhancement of the human joints.

He looked towards his guest, smiling as he realized that he was only looking at himself, as if the door was actually a mirror.

"Come", his own voice demanded, Warren saw no reason to deny himself this request.

Walking down the stair, following his own figure, Warren thought about the fact that this was his free day, Wednesday, not many customers during the week, unlike Saturday, when he went to work instead.

He looked up, lying on the floor he felt something warm and wet travel down his face, turning he realized that he had reached the landing of the stairs.

Through the door, into the outside world so to say. People passed him, only shadows in his vision, faceless and irrelevant, spots where the light of the sun ceased to exist, nothing more, nothing less.

He didn't know how long he had been following this person that called itself Warren Peace, but when he finally stopped it seemed like he ha reached an important place.

He exhaled solid air, turning all the shadows around him to dist, he didn't remember what they had been anyways. And it was the fate of all things to turn into dust eventually.

With a chuckle Warren noticed that he had reached once again this place of solace, swimming in the moon that shut out the world with all its hectic and pressure.

Once again, he was perfectly tranquil, free of any emotion or sense.

* * *

He awakened to find himself lying in a bed he didn't know. Looking around he noticed sterile furniture, white walls and a big window that allowed the sun to fill the room with light.

Groaning he sat up and removed some tube that had been attached to his crook, hissing at the stinging pain that the needle caused as it left his body.

Removing the other wires connected to his arm, he tried to stand up, only to fall back onto the bed again.

Suddenly the door flew open and a nurse appeared, seemingly startled by him sitting upright in his bed: "What are you doing, you shouldn't sit yet!"

Warren arched a brow at the short woman and tried to stand up again, only to be pushed back down by the surprisingly strong nurse: "No, you have to rest some more, we will contact your guardian aright away. Stay in your bed until I return all right?"

Warren nodded, interested in who might appear, after all he had no guardian any more. Then again, he was sure his bad luck would cause either The Commander or Jetstream to appear, asking all those unnerving questions about how he had ended up here.

Warren was right as it turned out, a few moments later the nurse entered again and told him that his guardian would be on her way, a few minutes later a very stern looking Jetstream entered the room.

And as soon as the nurse left the questions came, one after another.

"What happened to you?"

Warren thought for a moment: "I don't remember.."

It was not a lie, although he had some scrappy memories, he couldn't tell what he had dreamed and what really had happened.

"Warren, we found you lying on a street near our house bleeding from your head, how did you get that wound?"

Warren closed his eyes and touched his aching forehead: "I guess I fell down the stairs when I left my apartment..."

Jetstream had sat down next to him but now she was standing up: "How did that happen?"

"I hadn't slept very much...", Warren's head hurt more every second he thought about what had happened, maybe this wasn't very wise in his current condition: "I guess I had a small qualm or something, nothing important."

"Nothing important?", he had never heard that woman becoming that rigorous, was that a sign that she actually cared? "I suppose we will continue to check on you every day from now on after all."  
Warren growled: "It won't happen again all right? I'm fine on my own."

The nurse knocked and told them that Warren needed more rest now, so Jetstream left with the words: "We will continue this when you are better again."

Warren only huffed in dismissal and watched the nurse pulling some liquid into a shot.

"What is that?", he eyed the fluid substance inside the vial leery warily.

The nurse approached him, disinfecting a spot on his arm: "Only something that will let you sleep better."

"I don't want to sleep", Warren tried to withdraw his arm, but the nurse kept him firmly in place.

"I will not argue with you."

A few minutes later Warren fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

The streets were filled with people. People throwing stones, screaming at each other and nobody, smashing windows, burning cars.

It was a riot, and even the sky was flooded with the blood of those who had been killed.

Warren was standing in the midst of all this, staring at the crimson moon that seemingly enjoyed the cruelty, an unblinking eye, watching this chaos growing worse and worse.

His gaze shifted towards the street, where a homeless man tried to escape the grip of a soldier, who beat the man until nothing but a bloody pulp remained.

Warren tried to move, but his feet were unmoving, no matter how hard he tried, forcing him to watch this disaster taking truly grim features.

He heard the cry of a girl, having lost the grip on her father's hand, as a bulk of people approached, she tried to run, slipped, fell silent.

As the last people passed Warren he noticed a woman, kneeling before her adult son who had been trampled into the ground, she was watching his deformed features, her face congealed as a mask of dreadful desperation, her throat pressing out a few hysterical whimpers.

Everything was going to hell, this was not a town anymore, it was a slaughterhouse.

And then it stopped.

The people, the thrown objects, the voices, the sounds, everything fell silent, everything was perfectly still.

Warren eyed a Molotov cocktail that hovered a few centimeters aloof his eyes, even the liquid inside the bottle was as unmoving as stone.

Then he turned once more, and watched as the white figure of a human walked towards him, untouched by any dirt and strangely calm.

He knew this man, what was his name again?

"Looks like Utopia was only a dream after all, eh?", his voice strong, his steps confident, belying his empty, blind eyes, "But a beautiful dream nonetheless, don't you think so, Warren?"

* * *

He didn't move after he woke, letting his heartbeat slow down, his breath calm, letting his body realize that he only had a nightmare.

As soon as he somewhat recovered he heaved the blanket off his upper body and sat up, slowly accustoming to the bright sunlight that hit his eyes.

How long had he been out? And more importantly, what were these people doing in his room, sitting at a table and playing cards?

"You are awake", First she invaded his dreams, now she invaded his room. And she brought her friend with her, "We thought we'd pay you a visit, but you were sleeping so we got bored."

Warren groaned: "And exactly why would you want to visit me?"

"Because it seemed fun, I've never been to a hospital before. Gotta take every opportunity you get", she said factually, laying another card on the table as she spoke.

Warren rubbed his head, he was better now, maybe he could actually stand up this time.

His knees were still shaky, but he managed to hold himself upright and turned towards his 'guests' who were watching him interestedly.

"We found you on the street and called an ambulance", Layla explained.

Warren huffed, a faint smile on his face, so that's why the Strongholds were informed.

"You looked terrible", this was the second time that the Stronghold kid talked to him, apparently he had overcome the shock of their first encounters, "What happened?"

This question again, Warren didn't know exactly what had happened himself, how should he explain it to others?  
"I don't know", He walked around his bed and sat on the mattress, facing the other two, "And I don't need everyone making a fuss about it."

Layla shifted on her chair, as did Warren, until they sat in a somewhat triangle, which made Warren feel somewhat nervous.

He was not used to talking to people like this, with no real subject, just for the sake of conversation, it was somewhat unsettling, although he had to admit that it wasn't all that bad.

However, after a few minutes a nurse dropped in and informed them that the visiting hours were over, so the two of them left, leaving Warren exhausted and reluctant to go back to sleep again.

After a little while another nurse came and administered him the soporific. A few hours later his mind was filled with dark images and visions, once again caught in a nightmare.

* * *

Note: I have no intention to produce violence porn, I just felt the need to emphasize why exactly Warren is so appalled by his nightmares.

I'll begin writing the next chapter after my next exam the day after tomorrow...


	13. Ch7: The Sin

-Sorry for the long wait, I don't even have a proper reason to post this late...

-Slightly OOC-Warren in this Chapter...

-The story has left its liquid state and is now only waiting to be written down, so I'll do my best to post quicker...

* * *

It was the last day of his stay in the hospital when he first felt it.

Layla and Will had visited him every day, he was sure they were just bored to death and saw him as a last resort to spend the days, a means to kill time and nothing more, but he hadn't complained about it or asked them to leave. 'That's what you get for spending too much time with other people', he had told himself time after time, but it was no use regretting this now.

He had accepted it as well as the fact that The Commander and Jetstream would now watch over him, or that he would have an ordinary job in the Paper Lantern.

At least he told himself that.

Had he really relented? Surrendered to this 'respectable' life that his mother had always planned for him? He had seen where this kind of lifestyle led, sacrificing one's own dreams for someone else, being used, being trapped in a relationship, a family.

It was nothing a person should long for, it only ended in suffering.

He buried his face in his hands, trying to go back to this feeling of acceptance, but it seemed impossible these days, just as impossible as sleeping without dreaming or thinking about something else than the splinters of these dreams that seemed to invade his mind even when he was awake.

He was sure now that this black haired boy in the desert had messed with his head, messed him up some way. "You'll see, in time", he had said, but Warren couldn't figure out what exactly this guy, Niall, had done or to what end.

He needed to find him. Find him and make him undo whatever he did by pressing his thumb to Warren's forehead.

But how?

He couldn't just leave to search for these guys, he had a job to attend to, he had the Strongholds, who would never agree to such a thing.

As soon as he left the hospital, The Commander and Jetstream went on in their daily routine, leaving him to himself once more, giving him time to think about his plans.

And then he had an idea.

He returned to his apartment, checking the whole place for other people who were at home right now, but found only one person on the lowest floor.

Perfect.

Warren packed his stuff into a large dark blue bag, then opened a window and threw it out onto the roof that was only a few meters away and almost the same height as the opening in his wall.

After this, he piled up some clothes on the floor and took a knife. This would be the hardest part, he hissed as he cut his finger and watched a few drops of blood fall onto the clothes.

Then he cut a streak of hair and lay it under one sleeve, so it wouldn't be blown off to soon. "That should be enough DNA...", Warren murmured as he went into the kitchen and turned on the gas of his cooker.

Exhaling loudly he tried to calm himself as he left the room and waited.

He had noticed that normal fire couldn't touch him while he wrapped flames around himself, now he had to gamble on that to save him. It was a stupidly high risk, but he couldn't go on like that.

"Let's just hope that this will keep them from following me...", he muttered gloomily, sitting on his bed and sniffing, already sensing the unpleasant smell of the gas.

Waiting another few minutes he decided that this would have to do, "Wouldn't want it to be too flashy anyways."

Walking back into the hall and to his pile of clothes and evidence that it was actually him that burned down here, Warren tried to hold his breath as long as he could, knowing that this was a crucial point.

Closing his eyes and gathering power he clenched his teeth, trying not to think about all the risks that he was taking here, then he let go and felt the heat rising...

"Warren?", a cough, bringing him back to reality, breaking his concentration for a split second and resonating inside his head like a warning bell.

He didn't have the time to turn when a single flame emerged from his palm.

He was back on the streets, the riot raging around him, when suddenly a bottle hit him, exploded, setting him and his surrounding on fire, screams reached his ear, he tried to silence them with his willpower but failed.

Then, everything froze, leaving him in an empty space, white and barren.

What had he done?

Sure, he didn't like going back to the life that he led before his mother had died, but doing something stupid like destroying his apartment just to escape? This was not like him.

Maybe he had lost his mind for good now, maybe he hadn't thought about it, maybe he didn't know himself as good as he thought.

"You're pathetic", he noticed, watching as the gas around him caught fire, drawing every bit of oxygen from him, filling his lungs with the same fire that raged on his outside.

This was ridiculous, not only would he die, but now he had also killed Stronghold.

What was that guy doing here in the first place?

Had Layla been with him? Warren hadn't had the time to look around and now his vision was blocked by the angry fire that tried to consume him.

Falling into the darkness the flames died, leaving only the fire that had managed to get hold of the furniture of the kitchen, hall and bedroom, the once nice little flat had turned into a burning hell.

* * *

-Was that a cliffhanger? I don't know... maybe .


	14. Ch8: Repentance

-Sorry about the pace in this one, it's way rushed but it felt appropriate considering at which point I am in this story

-We are on the brink of the turning point, when the dreams and everything will be explained o_O

* * *

It was the scream that reminded Warren of his situation, the scream that gave him the impulse to whirl around and watch the burning body of Will Stronghold that was squirming on the floor.

In one second he was at the other boy's side, examining the damage that he had caused, whether it had been unintentional didn't matter at this state.

Will tried to fight back, but Warren held his grip on the younger guy's body, noting that no real damage had been done to his body, apparently he had inherited his father's invulnerability after all.

Double checking that Layla really was nowhere near, Warren picked Will up and went to the shattered window of his bedroom, gathering all the strength he had left he threw the boy outside onto the nearby roof, following once his legs stopped shaking.

Silently he peeled the burning clothes off Will and threw them back into his burning flat, then he fished a blanket out of his bag and wrapped the shivering kid into it.

Shaking his head at this surreal situation Warren picked up his bag and turned to leave, already hearing the approaching cops' sirens.

"What the hell happened there?", Will's voice was hoarse and Warren could imagine the inherent face, so he didn't turn around when he answered.

"I died in there", he chuckled at his ironic remark, "And you saw me dying, you hear?"

He heard a noise, probably Will gaining back his strength and sitting up, "Where are you going?"

"Doesn't concern you", Warren went towards the edge of the roof and looked down, deciding that he would climb into an alley and then escape out of town.

"I could have died...", an accusation, but Warren was used to that as well.

Turning he snarled: "I didn't invite you, did I. Your decision to come here, your fault for making the wrong decision."  
A sob, Warren hated that particular human emotion and the way it showed, turning around he shot Will a glare before remarking: "Just grow up already."

Slowly climbing down the facade of the small residence he had been standing on, Warren tried to focus entirely on his goal, finding the people who had done this to him and make them undo it. He wanted to sleep calmly for a change, he wanted to be able to distinguish between reality and imagination. And he wanted the low voice, that told him that this wasn't the only reason for him leaving again, to shut up.

* * *

On the move again, back at the beginning, but this time he had a target, this time it wasn't just running, it was chasing.

At least Warren wanted it to be that way, but the painful truth was that he had absolutely no idea where to begin searching for the group he needed to find, and so he just took the next best train, trying to get away from the town first.

And it was on that train that he noticed them.

Warren groaned, didn't he have enough problems already?

"What are you doing here?", he asked the two as he approached them, Layla looking up at him innocently, Will staring out of the window.

The girl tried to look serious: "We're following you of course."

"Why?", he looked at them unbelieving, folding his arms in front of his chest.

This time, Stronghold answered: "Well, we can't just let you leave alone."

"Are you kidding me?", Warren didn't try to hide the anger in his voice, "You have no idea what the world is like, you know nothing about what I'm trying to do, what you are bringing yourself into!"

Layla shrugged: "Can't be too bad."

Warren reminded himself to lower his voice as he answered: "You think this is fun? Some 'have some adventure and return home'-story? This is serious, Layla."

It wasn't often that he called somebody by his name, and Layla arched a brow at that: "You want us to return home? Then you can as well join us."

Warren groaned and closed his eyes, trying to come up with some smart answer, but all he could muster were some petty excuses for arguments.

Finally, he couldn't force them to leave and felt even worse as he continued his journey to nowhere with two clueless children at his side.

They traveled for days before they ran out of money, too stubborn to turn back, but it was that first night that they had to spend on the road that Warren finally realized it.

He watched Will and Layla sitting close together, because the nights were cold, even in summer, he himself curled up under a blanket and regarded the little fire he had triggered off with some bulk rubbish.

But he didn't feel helpless, or sorry for himself.

He felt calm, soothed, by the presence of these two, finally able to accept his dependence on others.

It made no sense to deny it now, no matter how much he wanted to, and he felt better thinking about it that way.

He was happy, finally at peace with the world and himself.

And then, it all suddenly stopped.

Everything.

The whole world as he knew it.

* * *

-Next chapter will be a long one...


	15. Ch9: Revelation

-So, here it is... the conclusion of the second part of the story and the beginning of the final part o_O

-This is the plot twist that made me write this story, sorry if it not as intelligent/surprising/good as you expected .

-I'm pretty content with it, actually, though I'm sure someone else could pull it off better^^

* * *

It was dark and cold, unbearable cold... Warren was running through the darkness, trying to get a hold of something, somebody, but this person seemed out of reach, always just out of reach...

He exhaled and saw his breath escaping into the air as steam, a single white beacon in this lifeless world.

Then his gaze shifted and he caught sight of a big object, gray, and blocky.

As he walked towards this thing, he realized that it was a stone, a big block of stone, that was standing upright, with dark carvings on its light surface.

There were entwined patterns around a single lettering, and Warren recognized it as a gravestone.

But who was buried here? The name seemed out of Warren's reach, just as the person that he had chased before, leaving him clueless and alone.

Then he felt something, a light touch, then pressure on his shoulder, as he turned he faced an older Layla who was smiling at him, a smile full of sympathy and honest grief.

Warren saw her moving her lips, but no words would reach him, as if there was a glass wall separating them, the only sound he heard was himself answering: "I know... thank you."

Again his gaze shifted towards the stone, examining it with desperation, looking for something, but only finding cold, emotionless stone.

A moment passed, then he suddenly looked up as snowflakes started falling down on them, soon the ground was as white as the steam emerging from his mouth, lightening the world up and sending a shiver through his body.

He cried.

* * *

Darkness, again, as he watched the city slowly sinking into a quicksand of destruction, that consumed every hope, every person, everything.

And there were Layla and Will, still sitting with him at the fire, shivering in the cold, why did they have to follow him?  
And then, his eyes were hit by light, bright, unforgiving light, surrounded by people he blinked, not knowing what had happened.

Everybody was talking, everybody was busy, but no matter what Warren did, nobody would listen to him, he was alone in company.

Then, the people turned into shadows, and finally disappeared completely, leaving him in an empty space of white, no longer blinded, but still confused.

"So, here we are, finally at an end as it seems", he knew this voice, it was the one he was looking for, Niall, so Warren had finally found him.

"Make it stop", he demanded right away, not wanting to waste his time talking to these people.

Niall laughed: "Oh, I will stop, trust me, even if I didn't want to, because at this point I have no choice."

"What did you do in the first place?", Warren had cooled down a little, finally realizing that this boy, Niall, was standing right in front of him, Hair bound back in a ponytail, face pale with a smug look.

"What do you think?", Niall asked, still eyeing Warren closely, like he was actually afraid of the other.

Warren huffed: "I don't know, but I'm impressed you did it so quickly."

Niall arched a brow: "Quickly? How long do you think I touched your forehead?"

"A few seconds?", Warren replied hesitantly, not knowing what to expect.

Niall began walking towards him, careful not to invade his personal space: "Two minutes to be precise. Now, how long do you think it was since I did that? I know, you lost your track of time, but guess."

Warren thought about it: "Four weeks or something like that..."  
Niall grinned: "You're right, of course it seemed longer to you due to your lack of sleep and everything, but it was exactly four weeks since then. What do you think I did with your head during those two minutes? Just guess."

Warren gave the boy a quick glare, then replied: "I don't know, but you caused those visions, those nightmares I had... I don't know why or..."

"You're wrong", Niall cut him short, "well actually you aren't, because your visions were a side effect of my interference, but you missed the point. What do you think about fate, Warren?"

Fate? Warren didn't know what to think about that, he didn't believe in fate, it was stupid to think that everyone was destined to become something, like a Superhero or a Villain, his father had a choice, just like he himself.

"Nothing much, just the normal I guess. Why do you ask, what does fate have to do with this?"

Niall dropped his smirk and regarded Warren with a serious look: "Everything. Now, let's assume that fate does exist, what could I have done with it that would cause all this?"

"Change it perhaps?", Warren pursued the thought, as he tried to figure out what Niall's point was.

"Oh, I wouldn't dare to interfere with fate, no, all I did was follow mine. My fate made me touch your forehead and use my ability on you... do you know what I mean? If not changing, what could I do?"

Warren grew tired of this conversation, so he said the next best thing that came to mind: "Show it to me?"

"Exactly", Niall grinned again, seemingly pleased with himself.

And Warren felt sick.

"You mean..."

Niall laughed.

"No..."

It was clear now, what had happened, what was happening right now.

"This is not real? None of it was? It was an illusion?", Warren stumbled and fell to the floor, sitting and staring at Niall like an idiot.

"Illusion?", the boy gazed at him critically, "No, if it was an illusion, then it would have been a thought, a picture, noise, feeling, smell or taste from me implanted in your brain. This did not come from me. It came from you. Every person has a fate, and this fate lies within oneself, now my ability is to bring out this fate and show it to other people. Just as I can see my own fate. This is the first ability one gains on the path to becoming god."

Becoming god...

"So the other two are working for you? So you can become their god?", Warren tried to understand, but he couldn't, didn't want to.

"I guess so", Niall seemed far away, thinking about something else, then suddenly turned his head towards Warren, "It is their fate after all, just as it is mine to become god."

Warren stood up again: "So you don't want it? Why don't you change your fate?"

"I couldn't do that", Niall chuckled.

Warren folded his arms: "I could."

Niall watched him, then he replied: "Actually you can't. Sure, you will not follow the fate I showed you, but that is also your fate. And since you can't see it, you can't know what it is."

"But how can it be my fate if I won't follow it?"

Niall shrugged: "It is not my place to know that. I will, when I become god, but before then, I don't know."  
Warren buried his face in his hands: "look, why are you following your fate in the first place. If you can escape, why not do it?"

"Because I am too dependent to leave my path. I can't make that decision", Niall answered without emotion.

"So you're afraid?", Warren regarded the other with condescension.

Niall nodded: "I am indeed."

Warren cocked his head: "So, what happens next? Or is it our fate to end this conversation now?"

Niall looked at him with clouded eyes: "It is my fate to say you one thing. You will try to stop us."

"Why would I do that?", Warren already knew the answer, still, he wanted confirmation.

Niall began to walk away, while he said: "You remember those visions. These were splinters of possible futures that leaked because I can't control these powers fully. They showed you what the world will become if we succeed. You don't want that to happen, so you will try to stop us."

"But you already know how it is going to end", Warren remarked, "Why should I bother."

Niall paused for a moment: "Because you have something worth fighting for."

* * *

Warren gasped as the Commander removed Niall's thumb from his forehead, then he relaxed and sighed.

What was he supposed to do now?

* * *

"Do you want to come with us for the night?", Jetstream asked him, but Warren only smiled tiredly and replied.

"Thanks but I'd rather speak with Principal Powers. We'll work something out for me to stand on my own feet."

He couldn't involve Layla and Will in this, he had to do it alone.

Walking down the dirty alley, Warren felt that he had a tough time ahead of him.

* * *

BAM already writing on the next chapter, although I probably won't finish it before the day after tomorrow since I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow...


	16. Ch10: Sky High

-This is my reminiscence of the movie, next up will be Royal Pain...

-I have to clear my room, so I won't be posting the next few days... things are getting hectic here ^_^;

-I always thought it seemed odd that Warren missed every single blow he threw at Will .

* * *

It was harder than Warren thought, finding people that would help him, most of the students at Sky High didn't seem to take him serious, the teachers were not even an option. He spend his days earning a reputation as a fighter, so that eventually people would come to join him, but instead, the knowledge of who his father was caused fear and reluctance.

He hadn't expected that, people regarding him as dangerous just because his family tree involved a supervillain, who was the son of two humans, and with that the only 'evil' person in his lineage.

With that, the next two years went by without him making any progress, and finally he accepted that he needed the help of Stronghold and Williams. There was only one problem, those two didn't know him, since he hadn't talked to them after he was freed of Niall's grip, and the first time he had gotten involved with them had been an accident.

He recalled that Layla had warmed up sooner to him, but that had been two years ago, he didn't know how time had changed the girl, so he had to be very careful what to say and do.

* * *

Sitting in the cafeteria of Sky High, pondering all this, when suddenly the very people her was thinking about approached and settled at a table close to his own.

Without moving Warren scanned them, Layla had grown, and kept her hair in pigtails, wearing the same green clothes as before.

Will hadn't changed all that much, still having the same unflashy haircut, wearing the same colors, as he had apparently adopted his father's color code.

The strange guy he had encountered before, as far as Warren remembered his name was Zach, was also with them, as well as a black kid with orange clothes that seemed younger than the others, and a black haired girl wearing violet.

As Warren considered approaching them he noticed Will shooting him a nervous glance over the shoulder and grinned inwardly. Just like last time as it seemed.

It was two days later that Warren overheard some people talking about the son of The Commander becoming a sidekick for his lack of power, which puzzled him.

The last time, Stronghold had developed at least invulnerability with twelve years, when he had been involved in Warrens attempt to veil his disappearance.

This was not good, if they were to help him, he needed them at full strength, and he had no time to wait until Will got into any real danger, he had to do something.

Deciding to visit his only current friend, a girl called Nivia, whose father had been charged with keeping an eye on Warren instead of the Strongholds, he promptly addressed his problem.

"You know, Warren, after all that's happened I can only imagine how you feel about this, but you can't force him. It could hurt him, drive him away from you and you don't want that", she had a way to speak softly, but sharp at the same time, reminding Warren of his mother, "Let's take this outside, the weather is still warm, it's give us some time to think, alright?"

Warren simply nodded, he didn't want to argue with her, after all she was able to Find solutions to problems that Warren himself couldn't.

"Look, I'm not saying you shouldn't approach them, you can even talk to Will about his powers and about the urgency of him gaining them, but don't do things you will later regret. They are most likely not the same persons you knew back then, and people tend to grow more complicated with 14 than with 12, if you scare him off, than I'm not sure if you'll get a second chance."  
Warren chuckled: "Stronghold thinks I hate him because his father pinched mine. Everybody thinks that. With that reason, all he will try to do is getting me to think different of him."  
"But that would be lying", Nivia scowled disapprovingly, "And you can't expect him to trust you if your bond is formed on a lie. There has to be another way."  
Warren noticed they were near the graveyard and furrowed his brow distractedly: "I'll think about it... promise."  
"Let's pay her a visit, shall we?", her voice far away, Warren lost in thought again.

He really hated his mother. He hated her for choosing to love his father, for bringing up a child in this fucked up relationship, for dying on him when he still needed her.

Sometimes he felt like giving in to all that rage, all that hate and just live for a change, live without restrictions, even if only for a little while.

But he wouldn't do that, not now. Later, sure, but now he had something to take care of first, against all odds, he had to succeed. And he had to concentrate on succeeding.

It was still warm when they crossed the graveyard, a small drizzle pouring down on them, then it really started to rain.

Once they reached the grave, a plain stone cross, donated by the officials of the hero society, for her early success as a heroine, Warren didn't like it all that much.

He didn't like being here, either.

Then, the air around him tuned cold, the rain turned to snow, covering the earth in white.

Nivia had only briefly known his mother, since she had worked in a hospital before her death and Nivia had been briefed there for her unusually low body-temperature. Still the girl felt more regret about her death than Warren himself, it was almost like an apology for his indifference.

But it wasn't indifference on his part, was it? Didn't he just tell that himself so that he could shove the anger away? And when he felt anger, did he feel regret as well?

Heating his body way above the norm, he put an arm around her, trying to counteract the coldness her skin was emitting.

"Let's go."

* * *

The next few days were unnerving, while Warren tried to figure out some way to approach Will and get him in trouble so he would be forced to use his powers, in the end Warren just wound up even tenser than before.

He hated relying on others, just as he hated to be the one forced to hold responsibility over this, tricked into fighting an enemy he didn't even really care about.

He was close to pack it all in and just explode or something, when suddenly hit by some kid's tray while reading in the cafeteria.

Now he knew who was responsible for this, Lash and Speed just loved getting people in trouble, and while Warren actually enjoyed scaring the newbies to the point where they would give him a wide berth, this time was different and he prepared to eviscerate these two wannabe badasses, until he realized who was standing in front of him, apologizing like a wuss.

'Time to do something productive', Warren thought to himself, putting every negative thought he could come up with into the look he gave Stronghold and firing up.

Will stumbled backwards and grabbed a tablet, trying to defend himself with it. Warren knew that the other hero's invincibility would come naturally as soon as Warren attacked, but how would he get Stronghold to actually attack him?  
But for now it was enough to let out the steam that had built up in the last days,with bliss Warren noticed how much he had missed to just explode on people, even if it wasn't actual joy that he was feeling, at least he felt.

There would be enough time for friendship and trust later on, what mattered now was getting Will into the position to fight back with all his power.

And that proved more difficult than Warren thought, even if he didn't actually aim at the other teen, no matter what he did, Will would just evade and run away.

Standing on one of the tables his gaze shifted and focused on Layla. That could work...

To others, his shout would have sounded like a simple taunt, but Warren knew that Stronghold's friends would appear and stand up to him, once he asked them to.

Summoning an especially big fireball above his head Warren made sure that Will had enough time to realize the threat to his friends, which finally led to the reaction Warren had hoped for.

'Objective one, accomplished.'

* * *

-Well that's it for today.. still got some stuff to do .


	17. Ch11: The Calm before the Storm

-Last few weeks were a bit rough, and this part of the story was difficult to write for me, as it simply re-tells the movie, which is kind of exhausting.

-Anyway, the end of the chapter is the beginning of the final arc, the War, so for anyone who actually aims to finish this story, it would be useful to read that part

-I apologize for my delays and for the style in this chapter, I guess I'm no good at continuous work -_-

* * *

"Warren, how could you?", it was the first time that he had seen the girl this exasperated, walking around in her room, visibly angry, "You just told me how important it is that you'd get closer, and then you attack him and off all things snap and tell him to piss off?"

Warren huffed, things had gotten out of hand and he was feeling stupid enough as it was, he didn't need complaining now: "I'm in a stage where I can be moody, right? It's not my fault, it's evolution."

"You told me again and again how everything depends on this, I don't think this is a time to be moody, do you?"

"Not everyone can be as cold as you", Warren scoffed and left the room, hearing Nivia groan in frustration.

Things only got worse from there on, Warren grew unnerved and unable to think of a good plan to make up for his disastrous failure, and even when Stronghold saved him from Speed in the hero-challenge he couldn't catch the opportunity to finally recruit Will for the fight he knew was going to come.

* * *

After another few weeks, he got saved by sheer luck. When he was working as usual in the Paper Lantern, he suddenly found himself standing in front of Layla Williams.

His mood had gone from irritated to desolate by then, and he probably wouldn't have known what to say if Layla hadn't started the conversation, greeting him casually.

As Warren expected Layla talked about Will nonstop, but the sole fact that she actually was speaking to him sufficed to him.

He was careful not to make her suspicious about him knowing too much about her and Will, and managed to create a somewhat calm mood, until they were cut off by his boss, who shouted out of the kitchen that he should hurry up.

After that Evening, Warren felt better, even though Nivia still wouldn't talk to him.

However, when at the following morning Layla walked up to his table in the cafeteria and just casually dropped on a chair across him, and told him that she planned on going with him to homecoming, he felt that well-known annoyance he had felt when Layla had bumped into him two years ago.

„I don't remember that being the plan‟, he wasn't about to be dragged into some relationship.

Things got even more distracting when the whole gang he had seen with Will before seated themselves around Warren, too, and he quickly realized that things were changing too quick.

But at least Layla wasn't doing this to get through too him, personally, which made the situation bearable.

Things were painful the next days, with Layla clinging onto him whenever Will was looking and Warren growing more uncertain if this really was a good idea to get through to them.

After a brief encounter with Will at the Paper Lantern, at which he cleared things up, the dance was the next time he actually had contact with his former friends.

Homecoming was as boring as expected, until The Commander and Jetstream arrived, oblivious of Warren's presence, and some girl named Gwen, who Warren had never really cared about, revealed herself as some second-class Super-villain called 'Royal Pain'.

Jonathan Boy, Coach Boomer and even Principal Powers an the Strongholds proved useless, as only Warren and Layla's friends were able to escape the following shootout with some gun that turned people into babies.

Warren had asked himself where Will had gotten to, until the boy in question suddenly appeared, apologized to his friends that he, as he had told Warren earlier, had treated them like shit.

After they made up, Lash and Speed and some black girl who had the ability to multiply attacked them, but where defeated, which gave Warren the opportunity to analyze the gang's powers, and form a few plans for his task in his head.

The rest happened really quick, Royal tried to slam the school into the ground, quite literally, as she had somehow sabotaged the device that caused the school to float, Will developed a flying power, and Magenta morphed into a guinea-pig to save the school.

After that, the dance went on as before, having saved the day Will was his old self and Warren felt relieved.

* * *

"So it worked out in the end I guess?", an unexpected voice, Warren turned around and faced Nivia, who had been standing beside him, arms crossed.

He smiled subtly and answered: "I guess it did."

Silence, as they watched each other, uncomfortable and for what seemed ages.

The noise from around grew louder, as people danced, cheered, and Warren didn't notice anything strange yet.

He watched as her skin became paler, colder, then a layer of ice covered her arm, avoiding his gaze she turned and said something that he didn't catch.

Flames leaked leaked out of his skin, grabbing Nivia's Hand he watched as their powers compensated one another, eradicating both, flames and ice, a strange and somewhat peculiar feeling.

And at that moment, the moment of victory and happiness, without a warning, without bad omens, the war erupted.

A white flash, at first Warren didn't even notice it, then he caught a glimpse of it from the corner of his eye.

He didn't let go of Nivia's hand as he turned, gasped and began to move quickly towards an exist, his shout of surprise perishing in the overall noise of the dance.

One moment frisky dance, the other gruesome panic.

People screaming, running, powering up, dying.

Warren felt it, felt Sky High crumbling as the whole school moldered and fell.

He gripped on a table, still holding the blonde girl close to him, tried to think, watched the ground drawing nearer, jumped, felt the pain for a split-second and blacked out.

* * *

I will rewrite this as soon as I feel a little better, but first I'll write a little further, so the next chapter has priority for now.


	18. Ch12: Layla

-I actually kind of like this chapter, after the Sky High arc, it was relaxing to write something original again^^

-Thanks to all who read all the way here, I will post the rest more frequently than the last few chapters, I promise...

-The War continues, and things are slowly getting out of hand...

* * *

The Desert lay before him, an endless sea of sand, only to be crossed by those who had enough experience and stamina. The air was dry and hot, as if this place was nothing but a giant oven, determined to force every trespasser to their knees.

Warren inhaled deeply, tasting the sand as he drew in air, clenching his fists and moving on from the barrens that sprawled behind him.

The first step he took was a steady one, although the sand indulged to his weight, causing him to balance in order not to fall. As soon as he started walking he knew he wouldn't be able to take a break or go back from now on, this was his path, and he would have to follow it to the end.

_

* * *

Two days after the catastrophe._

_Warren opened his eyes sluggishly, wincing at the sunlight that invaded his sight and wondering what had happened to him._

_As soon as he shifted he felt cool hands on his skin, and heard a soothing voice, lulling him back to sleep._

* * *

Warren took another sip of water, trying to stay focused and crossing the desert step after painful step.

He fiddled with the trinket that Nivia had given him, a silver, snowflake-shaped pendant with an ice-blue gem in it's center. It was the second of its kind and had found a place at his belt, beside the necklace of his mother, that he still carried. The metal felt cool on his skin, even in this heat, calming him and giving him the strength to go on.

_

* * *

One week and a half _ after the catastrophe.

_Warren finally managed to wake, as he sat up he heard Nivia rushing over to him._

_"What happened?", his voice was raspy and silent, causing himself to cringe._

_Nivia lay a cooling hand on his forehead, gently activating her power and sending shivers through his body: "You passed out and had a fever. At least I think that, your temperature seemed abnormally high, even for a pyrokinetic."_

_"Will I be okay?", he couldn't help hearing the worried tone in her voice._

_But she smiled and readjusted her glasses, eyeing him with an indefinite expression: "I'm sure of it, don't worry too much."_

* * *

The nights were cold as ice, and Warren had to flame up if he wanted to sleep at all, this rhythm of burning heat and freezing cold was slowly making him exhausted.

But he had to go on, had to reach his goal, there was no turning back after coming this far.

His only coordination were his memories, which wasn't much, but Warren trusted them as far as it went.

_

* * *

One month after the catastrophe._

_Warren had gotten better and was sitting on a sofa in Nivia's home watching the news anchor without real interest._

_They had covered up the fall of Sky High by claiming that a comet had struck the area, most governments were now investigating the real causes of said impact._

_Will, Layla, Magenta and Ethan were currently in close contact with Warren, as Zach had died in the attack and they were currently discussing the following steps they would take._

_Lash, Speed and Penny had vanished, hiding at an unknown location, just like Royal Pain, who had only been seen once, robbing a bank in western Asia._

* * *

The stars watched as Warren shivered, his flames could only provide a heat that sheltered him from the worst cold, as his breath was still visible as steam. He remembered the day he left, confident and determined, now he was praying for the day of reaching his goal.

Slowly he was creeping onwards, as he had realized that walking at night and resting at day was much more intelligent than wandering through the heat.

_

* * *

Six month after the catastrophe._

_Warren and Nivia had grouped up with a kid who had the power to teleport and who called himself Mancu and a woman who could sense persons, objects and even powers, whose name was Lia. A month ago, the government had officially announced every use of superpowers illegal, after the group behind the attack on Sky High had started to attack civilians and military bases, and Will had vanished along with Layla and Ethan._

_The Commander and Jetstream had been imprisoned for using their powers to help a child in a fire, Principal Powers was nowhere to be found either, while Coach Boomer had been killed in a crossfire with the police forces._

_Currently Warren's lot was trying to get a hold of Will and Layla, after Magenta had denied every power and was now living a normal life as a human._

* * *

It was that moment when the sun was not yet rising, but the sky already bright, that Warren first saw it. An oasis, without water, an unnatural grove in the middle of the desert, this had to be it.

Giant trees, vines on the ground, Warren could see it clearly, even though it would probably take two more days to get there. As the first rays of sunlight hit him, he pulled out his last bottle of water, took a gulp and lay down to sleep.

_

* * *

Twenty month after the catastrophe._

_Warren and his group, which had gotten bigger, had moved to Europe, where hiding was much easier, by now rumors had spread about a strange sighting of plants in the deserts of Africa, and Royal Pain, who had joined them two month ago, was currently working on a device which would show them the locations of these occurrences._

_Ron Wilson had also found his way into their group, along with a former teacher, Jeannie Elast. Currently, they were in contact with Lash and Speed, who were living in eastern Europe._

* * *

Another night had passed, and Warren was no painfully close to the forest, but he couldn't ruin everything now by straining his body further, he had to be patient.

The day seemed especially hot and he couldn't sleep much, while he held the cooling pendant close to his body.

_

* * *

Two years after the catastrophe._

_Warren was shouldering his backpack when Nivia held him back. Royal Pain's device had located Layla's current position, and he was getting ready to leave their base in order to travel exactly there, deep inside the Sahara._

_Warren sighed: "You aren't here to stop me, are you? We've been through this, I'm going alone, it's safer that way."_

_Nivia smiled sadly: "I know, I just want to you to take something... a keepsake so to speak."_

_holding up a necklace with a silver pendant on it, she looked directly at Warren's face: "Just take it, I made it myself with my powers, it will keep the heat outside your body as long as it is with you."_

* * *

Warren entered the forest the next morning, the heat faded inside the shadows of the trees and left him astonished at the extent of Layla's powers. She was strong, maybe stronger than he himself, but her believes lead her into neglecting that fact, and thus she was underestimated by almost everyone.

After Warren's eyes had adjusted to the dim light inside this strange forested area, he continued searching for the redhead, finally finding her on a clearing, clad in green robes, seemingly more adult than before, and looking directly at him, as if she had already expected him.

"You are here, Warren. I need to talk to you", her voice remembered him of something, like a déjà vu, but he couldn't just quite grab what that was.

"What do you want, Layla", he took another step towards her, she seemed desperate.

A sigh escaped her lips before she answered: "It's about Will, he needs our help."

"What has happened?", Warren watched as the plants around her withered, then grew back and withered again.

And when she answered a second time, he finally remembered where he had seen this before, all these years ago, while he was stunned by a person who could see fate. "He is dying."


	19. Ch13: Congress

Alright, this is the new version of this chapter, I modified a few things and merged the two part that existed previously into one.

* * *

The forest around him grew quiet. Warren had the feeling that something was about to happen, or at least it had happened in his dream. He tensed, looked around, waited. Layla, however, simply turned around and told him to follow.

They passed huge trees, colorful flowers and thick vines, but Warren didn't even notice them. He wondered what had happened to Will in these two years, why Layla needed to hide the two of them all the way out here.

After a while the trees parted and they reached the heart of this strange oasis, a circular pond of water, surrounded by giant leaves and white lilies. So there was actually water here, more than just a little, but how was that possible?  
He never got to ask his question, however, as a plant ascended, a plant of tremendous size, with a giant white blossom at it's top. The stem bowed, the blossom opened and a person slid onto the ground before their feet.

"I don't know what happened to him", Layla breathed, clearly at the end of her line, "He was horrified by his parents' imprisonment, and after Ethan didn't return from his visit to his own family's house, Will was adamant in finding him."

Layla kneeled down, stroked Will's ivory skin and seemed lost in her memory. The boy looked more dead than alive, with dark shadows under his eyes, colorless lips and his bony body. "One week after Ethan vanished, we met a man, a man with yellow eyes and a big raven on his shoulder. Will somehow knew that he was one of the men responsible for the destruction of Sky High and attacked him. I tried to help, but finally he did this to Will, simply by looking at him."

Sighing Warren soothingly lay a hand on Layla's shoulder, seeing her helpless and distraught was never pleasant. Trying to sound comforting he informed her: "We are already trying to identify and locate this group and their location. If we go back to our headquarter, I'm sure we will find a way to help Will."

Layla nodded, still distant, then she silently said: "Fine, lets go."

* * *

The town was filthy, nothing more than a few solid buildings, a single street, with the casual car driving by, surrounded by many corrugated-iron and clay huts.

Warren regarded his surroundings intently, spotting some children with close to no clothes playing some sort of tag. All the adults that were seen behind broken windows or on the paths between the huts looked pinched and bitter, scarcely anybody seemed to notice him and Layla standing at the side of the road, waiting.

They were supposed to meet Mancu here, who would take them to their new hideout, the old one had been abandoned just after Warren had set off.

Sniffing and taking in that sour scent of desperation Warren tried to ignore the villagers and Layla's discomfort, soon they would leave here.

Suddenly, a roar echoed from the crumbled facades, telling Warren to get ready-

As expected, the figure of a jeep could be seen a few moments later, the orange haired teen sitting on the driver's seat, grinning warmly at the two people at the road.

"Why couldn't you just teleport here to get us?", Warren asked, already knowing that his complaint was futile.

Mancu in return huffed and rolled his eyes, replying: "You know my powers don't work that way. I can't take people with me through these portal, and you know that I can't control the exact point of their appearance. I could completely miss you, land in the desert or something, or even worse, open a portal into a wall or inside a human. I guess you understand that the outcome wouldn't be favorable?"

Warren almost smiled at the boy's tone: "Whatever you say... just let me drive alright?"

* * *

The new base was located near a town, Warren had remembered its name to be something like Haakberg or something like that, in the Netherlands, where Kira, the girl with the power to change the weather, had bought a small farm.

Getting there was tiring, taking the jeep, and as soon as it was possible the train, always feeling Layla anxiously sitting next to him while her plants transported Will underneath the earth. It took them more than a week to finally reach Europe, and another two days to finally arrive at their goal. Warren regretted yet again that they didn't have enough money to spare to buy a plane ticket, but it couldn't be helped at that point.

When they finally entered the headquarter, it was a surreal scenery, one second standing on the yard of a rural looking farm, the next entering a hightech base, equipped with the latest technology, thanks to Royal Pain.

As soon as they entered Warren heard footsteps, and before long Nivia came around the corner of the hallway, smiling as she recognized them.

"You are back", she gave Warren a quick hug, then turned to Layla, "And you chose to join us, I suppose? Welcome at our base."

Layla took her hand hesitatingly and squeezed it lightly: "Thanks for having me."

The common room was equipped with gadgets of all sizes and forms, some of which Warren didn't even know what they were used for. Two doors lead to the hallway and the kitchen, which was rarely used for more than heating something up in the microwave, they didn't really have the time to cook everyday.

The hallway also featured the stairs, which lead to the first floor, where two bathrooms and the several bedrooms were located, one occupied by Will who was currently being examined by Sophia, a middle aged woman with light brown hair, who had studied medicine and possessed the power to create torrents of water wherever the ground was loose enough to break open.

Warren and Nivia had settled on a sofa in the main room, which also served as a living room to the group.

Nivia had formerly persuaded Layla into eating something, and Lia had gone out of her way to create something nutritious for the girl who hadn't had a proper meal in several month.

After another thirty minutes had passed Sophia came down the stairs and Layla was instantly at her side, questioning her about Will. Warren also joined them, a sense of foreboding at the back of his mind.  
Sophia looked at them with a worried face, then began explaining: "I wish there was something I could do, but I haven't ever seen a patient like this. Whatever is killing him, it is no normal disease or wound, to be precise there's nothing wrong with him."

Layla swallowed, and Warren tensed as the big potted palm tree in the room withered and died.

* * *

The days became a monotonous routine. Watching over Will, spending time in the living room, waiting for Royal Pain to inform them of any news, sleeping. It was a rhythm, which was somewhat comforting, but Warren would have preferred to have an overconfident Will and an upbeat Layla around.

They had even considered bringing Will to a normal hospital, but every time the thought came up, the odds that it could help him at all seemed so low that it was quickly discarded again.

The only comfort that he found these days was in the presence of everyone else, Royal Pain working her magic with the machines, Lia meditating and trying to locate their targets. Mancu and Joshua playing chess and video games, Ron and Jeannie trying to look useful, even when there was nothing they could currently do. Nivia, who made sure to be near him whenever possible, as if she suspected that he would set off to burn something if not watched. She was probably right, though.

Meena, who was constantly eating something, had settled in the garden, as she wasn't good in handling the grave atmosphere that engulfed the house. Sophie spend most of the time at Wills side, mainly to watch over Layla, as Warren suspected.

And with that, the days went on, without Will showing any signs of improvement, and with the group finally getting closer to finding the people that were responsible for this whole situation. Two weeks after Layla had arrived, the heartbeat of the boy was reduced to a faint tap, a week later he gave a little cough.

And just like that, died.

* * *

They buried him on a sunny day, the sun smiled down upon them mockingly as they dug out a hole in the garden by hand. But Warren didn't pay attention to the sky, he simply stared at his friend's wooden coffin as it was lifted into the ground.

Joshua, who had the power to manipulate minerals, had erected a beautiful gravestone for the boy, but Warren felt sick looking at it.

A few clouds caught his interest as he felt an anger rising up inside him, an anger stronger than anything he had felt since his mother had died. He had sworn to bring the group down that had destroyed the school. But now he wasn't sure if he could hold back once he would meet them. But maybe they really did deserve to die.

Gripping Nivia's hand tighter, he tried not to think to much about it, but his head wouldn't comply with him.

Quietly he went inside, went to bed early.

The night was cold.

* * *

I still feel kind of bad for killing Will, however, I will not change it now =_=


	20. Ch 14: The Battle

I guess saying that I'm sorry doesn't quite cut it, so I will say: here it is, and only two chapters to go.

I partly rewrote the last chapter and merged the formerly two parts of 'Congress' (as it is called) into one. Therefore I advice rewriting that part again for better understanding. Now, this part was up once, but I didn't like how it turned out so I rewrote it almost completely, making it more like I originally planned it. The part with Layla and Raven starts out like it did the first time, but it will end differently. The next part "Fate" will be up in a few days, as I am currently writing it ._.

* * *

It was in the middle of the night that Warren woke, bathed in sweat and panting. He didn't know what woke him, or what time it was, but as he looked out of the window, he caught sight of a full moon, sending it's sallow light down towards the earth.

His breath formed clouds, and he shivered uncomfortably as soon as the sweat cooled down. It was then that he thought it useless to try and go back to sleep. Instead, he heaved the heavy blankets from his body and sat up on the edge of his bed. It really was a frosty night.

A shirt was soon found in the mess that covered his floor, as were somewhat clean, black jeans. Now wide awake he tried to comprehend the bothering thought that bugged him.

"Oh right", he breathed, to no one in particular, "Will is dead."

Soundless he picked one of his leather jackets from the drawer and went down the stair to the hall. Still wearing no socks or shoes he felt the tiles painfully cold against the soles of his feet and shivered once again. He didn't need any light to orientate himself inside the headquarter and soon found his shoes.

"Warren", he managed not to look surprised as he faced the girl, her skin as pale as the moonlight, her clothes the usual green attire, "They just aired it, a special broadcast. A city in France is currently under siege by the military. Even the soviets and America have send troops, you know what that means?"

Warren huffed, there was only one logical possibility: "It's them."

It needed no further explanation, no further discussion. Layla would go, she would go now and there was no stopping her. Quickly Warren went through the things he could do now.

He could follow her, try to protect her, leaving a note for Nivia to follow them as soon as everyone was awake.

He could also wake someone now, or try to wake everyone so that they could operate together. But they wouldn't be fast, if the whole group was to embark into battle, there had to be preparations made. And by then, Layla would be long gone.

"Give me two minutes", it wasn't a plea, more like a stated fact, as Warren turned towards the living room. He knew Layla would wait for him at least.

The common room was empty, save for Nivia, who was lying on the couch, apparently to give Warren some space after what happened. She seemed peaceful, but Warren knew that she, too, suffered from this situation. Shaking her slightly he whispered a "hey", effectively waking her.

"What's wrong?", her voice mellow, tired.

Warren sighed softly: "They have attacked, and I have to go to protect Layla. Gather everyone and follow us as quickly as possible okay?"

Nivia groaned and sat up straight, looking at him critically. She didn't approve, he felt that, but he couldn't wait now. "Please."

A sigh of defeat: "Be careful out there. Don't do anything stupid."

* * *

The train was almost empty and they had the whole section to themselves, which would hopefully stay this way until they reached France. Warren took a small screen out of his backpack and explained to Layla: "This stores everything we know about our enemy. We should probably study it, since knowledge is important when it comes to supervillains."

The small machine lit up and showed them the database entries, that Royal Pain had made beforehand.

First they had the three that Warren had encountered.

Kyan, the man who could shape-shift into a monster.

Yepa, the albino man, who could stop time.

Niall, the guy who could manipulate the spirit on a person.

Then, there were the people that Royal pain had located and analyzed.

A girl called Vyne, who could apparently manipulate gravity.

Kia, a young woman with an unknown power, who had only been seen fighting with a gun.

And Keith, a man who was able to turn things into dust.

Finally there was that strange person that Layla had spoken of, but no one knew what power he possessed. It had killed Will, and it hurt Warren just thinking about that, but what exactly it had done was a mystery.

* * *

And then they reached it, the city that was chosen to be the stage for the fight of the military against the supervillains.

He had expected the town to be devastated, in ruins, but nothing could have prepared him for this. It was a glimpse of what would have happened if the society of superhumans had ever decided to turn against the people they were supposed to protect, and it was frightening to say the least. A whole part of the skyscrapers that made up the core of the city had partially faded, as if it turned to dust. And considering one of his enemies' powers it seemed as if just that had happened. There were fires everywhere, since the military had started using flame-throwers and tanks, now not only against the supervillains but also against the inhabitants that had gone berserk.

Layla tugged at his sleeve and pointed towards a building that had a huge hole in it, a hole with the perfect shape of a circle and sharp edges, like it had been cut out by a knife.

"This", she said loudly, to overpower the noises of the battle, "Is the doing of that man!"

Warren growled: "I guess you want to take care of him?"

She nodded, and Warren wished silently for the others to hurry up. Without saying anything, though, they proceeded through the buildings, avoiding any military, and finally reaching the battle-zone.

There were people running everywhere, throwing stones, screaming at each other, robbing shops, smashing windows, burning cars. Warren grabbed Layla's arm and shouted: "You go ahead. And be careful. I'll hinder the others from joining you."

He knew he couldn't really protect, Layla, as she was as strong as he himself, and probably even more truculent than he right now, as her rage overpowered his.

As soon as she was out of sight he turned, getting a glimpse of the clouded sky and wondering if he had seen this somewhere in his dreams. The sun was hidden, only passively giving her light to the world that was flooded with violence.

His gaze turned to the street, noticing a homeless man trying to escape the grip of a group of police officers who were beating him with sticks, a mother, kneeling next to her dead child, laughing hysterically. A small girl, crying, trying to run away, slipping, falling silent.

Everything was going to hell, a picture of cruelty.

And then it stopped, everything, the battle falling silent, the people freezing in their movements, even the air seemed to stop its flow.

Yepa.

"Looks like Utopia was only a dream after all, eh?", his voice strong, his steps confident, belying his empty, blind eyes, "But a beautiful dream nonetheless, don't you think so, Warren?"

Warren arched a brow: "Is that what you were trying to create, an Utopia?"

"Why not?", he reached the black haired boy and smiled faintly: "Do you think we have to be evil only because people see us as villains?"

Warren tried to remain civil, but his body was twitching to attack: "You killed Will."

"We killed many people, for various reasons. And we were killed, many of us, does that make the people that killed us just as bad? Right now, you would gladly kill me, using that fire of yours."

Warren took a step backwards, readied himself: "So what, you want to attack me? Why don't you freeze me as well?"

Yepa laughed: "Because you can't harm me. Or lets say you don't know how."

* * *

Nivia gasped when everything around her froze, everything except herself and Jeannie, who looked just as flustered as her. "We have to get to Warren and Layla before it is too late", the blonde girl reminded her former teacher and got her to nod and follow.

When they crossed another street Nivia caught a glimpse of white and turned. Warren was standing there, talking to a person she had seen one time before, on a photo in their hideout. One of _them_.

* * *

"I don't freeze everything, as you would say. I stop the time of a certain thing, in a certain distance. Also specific people, but never everything. And since I stop the fire, you can't attack me. As soon as the flame leaves you it will-", Yepa never finished his sentence as he was suddenly enwrapped by a cold, wet material. Ice.

Warren blinked. Then again, not realizing what was happening. Until his surroundings started to move again and he heard a familiar voice shouting his name.

When he turned he saw Nivia and Jeannie running towards him, but what caught his attention was a police officer, who was starring at the frozen man.

Aghast he watched as the man pulled out a pistol with a surprising speed, pointed, pulled the trigger.

The bullet pierced the white man's chest, the next one went through his head. Then the ice broke, leaving him crumpled on the street, the dirt of the road, the blood, everything staining his body, like watercolor on an empty piece of paper.

It was strange, and Warren felt a certain uneasiness that came with the death of the man, as if something bad had happened. Or was it something bad? The man had been his enemy after all. But before he could pursue the thought further he heard a scream.

And footsteps approaching. He turned, noticing a young man with fawn hair, who suddenly appeared next to the dead body of the albino. With that man was a girl, maybe Warren's age, with short gray hair and a stern look on her face.

He remembered their names being Vyne and Keith, the man who could turn things into dust and the girl who could manipulate gravity.

This was not too bad, he knew that he could beat them with the help of Nivia, and they had Jeannie as a backup.

"You", Keith pointed at the policeman who had shot Yepa, "Have killed the quiescence of time, now you will meet decay."

Warren instantly created a fireball in his palm, ready to throw it as Vyne's gaze grazed him and he lost ground.

When he regained his balance, he heard the sound of gunfire and watched in horror as both, the bullet and the policeman turned to dust in a mere moment. They didn't dissolve slowly, they weren't hit by a blast of some sort, they just turned to dust all at once, as if they never had existed in the first place. This guy was dangerous.

* * *

Layla walked up to the building and clenched her fists. Knowing that the man who killed Will was in there she couldn't hesitate, but could she beat him, could she really face him and win?

All these thoughts vanished, however, once she entered the devastated house, that had once been an office-complex, and face the demon.

He was standing in the middle of a large, empty hall, looking at her smugly as the town outside turned to ashes. "You came, just like he said."

Layla didn't reply, just gathered her strength and prepared to attack.

"Did you understand my powers yet?", he asked with a low but clear voice, the big raven on his shoulder cawing loudly.

"Will touched you", Layla said now, a little more confident, "If I stay at a distance I will be fine."

He laughed, menacingly, his eyes still without emotion: "No, you didn't understand at all. You want me to explain it to you?"

Layla hesitated, was this a farce, a trick to kill her, touch her? She summoned a few vines that protected her from direct harm at least and nodded slowly.

"You see, my superpowers don't come from an accident, animal bite, or from my DNA. They originate in pain. Not physical pain, but psychic. I'm the one they call Raven, simply because that is the only part of my soul that is left", his voice now slick, his eyes never leaving Layla's, "I hated my parents, and they hated me so I found a way to get rid of them and in doing so I earned the power to get my will, whatever that may be. But I have one restriction."

"What restriction?", Layla asked silently.

He grinned: "I have to 'see' it with my eyes, that is why you can know what I am going to do. It will show in the reflection of my eyes before I can will it into existence. Thankfully no one can come close enough to me to actually see the reflections in my eyes."

"You are crazy", Layla mused, "There is no such power, there can't be such a power."

Raven laughed again, this time a little more challenging: "And what happened to Will?"

Layla suddenly felt a pain in her chest and cringed slightly: "He got", she breathed angrily, "Surprised."

And then, she unleashed her power, completely, letting it burst out of her, into the ground, into Raven, in the shape of vines, flowers, trees, and all kinds of plants.

* * *

here it is, I must say I still don't like some parts, but it has a nicer feel to it than the last version thanks for putting up with me and sorry again for never keeping the promised dates :


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